The Right Choice
by SuperCess
Summary: She is already married and so was He. When fate decided to play with them, they meet again resulting to a lot of love, betrayal and secrets revealed. "No matter how far we try to stay away, we'll always end up finding each other". A SasuSaku Fanfiction.AU
1. Choice 1: The NotSoNormal Day

******A/N: Hey guys! I'm back with a new FF and in a different anime! ^_^ This is my first try to make a SasuSaku FF, so forgive me if I don't describe/portray them well. I have no idea of what they're really like. Well, I'll give you some light-hearted romance and a bit of humor here. ^_^**

**Another thing, sorry if it'll be a bit OOC for the characters. I don't even know their OOC counterparts since I don't usually read about them that much. Bear with me my dear readers. ^_^ I'll try really hard to satisfy you guys. ^_^ And I rated this T, since there are some words..and some scenes [probably]..so yeah. ^_^**

**Lastly, this is, of course, dedicated to my best friend, Mika-chan. I promised her a SasuSaku FF [though I'd gladly make a SasuNaru for her too, of course *wink*] and here it is. ^_^**

**_Disclaimer: The storyline is mine, not the characters. :D _**

* * *

**Choice # 1: The Not-So-Normal Day**

* * *

'_Light. What is this blinding light?' _She thought as she looked around. There were flowers everywhere and a girl with long, flowing raven hair was playing in the flowery field, laughing and running. She could hear her laugh and that made her smile. The little girl looked at her and waved, she waved back.

"Mama, look! I've made you a flower necklace!" The little girl said, hoisting up the necklace that she had just made. The girl ran towards her and gave it to her, smiling sweetly.

"Thank you Ayaka. It's lovely." She pleasantly said, giving Ayaka a kiss on her forehead to which the girl replied with a soft giggle.

"You know mama, I made one for papa too." Ayaka quietly said, she held up another flower necklace and then her faced turned dark and blank. "But he'll never wear it right? Never in his life." She said, in a very low voice, "because he's never even coming back." She ended.

* * *

Sakura woke up with a start, sitting up on the bed with beads of sweat evident on her forehead. She reluctantly wiped it away. She sighed. _'Another dream huh.' _She thought. She heard a slight whisper of her name on her side and felt the bed moving. She looked over and was completely woken up by a ridiculous stash of blonde hair.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Sakura asked silently. The man shook his head and reached out to grab Sakura's waist and pull her over to him. Sakura just moved closer quietly.

"No. Not really." He replied, answering her question earlier. Sakura's lips formed a smile.

"That's good, but your hair really woke me up when I looked at you." She retorted, which is true, Naruto's hair was really like the blinding light she dreamt about. Naruto just laughed and inhaled Sakura's scent.

"Bad dream?" He sat up, playing with Sakura's hair and kissing her cheek good morning. Sakura sighed.

"Yeah, I guess." She simply replied. Naruto had been able to do that to her recently, calm her down to the extent that she'll just close her eyes and forget about her troubles in an instant. She was brought back to her senses when Naruto pulled her down to bed again.

"Don't think about it. Let's go back to sleep." He said, cuddling with her. She obliged, but her eyes shot wide open when she heard footsteps from outside their room.

"Naruto, what time is it?" She asked, still quietly, not wanting to ruin the moment. Naruto shrugged, replying 'I don't know'. She wriggled away from Naruto's hug and braced herself. "We won't get any sleep now." She smiled. Naruto just sighed and nodded.

At that moment, their door burst open and a girl came in, clutching a little red pillow on her hand with a big smile plastered on her face. She ran to them and jumped on the bed.

"Goooood Morrrrrninnnggg!" She squealed gleefully. She turned to Sakura and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Mama! Mama! I want sushi…sushiiii.." She pleaded, grabbing Sakura's arm and shaking it.

"Ayaka, you want sushi in the morning? We'll just get that later." Sakura told her daughter.

Yes, Sakura had a daughter. The one she dreamt about. Ayaka is 6 years old, quite clever for a young girl and Sakura is proud of it. She had long, flowing raven hair with a hint of pink at the tips and her eyes were always full of emotions, her onyx colored eyes. Sakura sighed. Ayaka looked at Naruto who still had his eyes closed.

"Mama? This MAN beside you, he's still not getting up?" Ayaka asked, crawling over to Naruto and poking him, as if checking if he's still alive. Sakura laughed quietly.

"Why don't you try and wake him up honey?" Sakura suggested, watching Ayaka still poking on Naruto's nose and eyes and everywhere she could poke to.

"Naaaa-chaaaan." Ayaka addressed him, pinching Naruto's nose hard. "Wake up, Na-chan." She tried again, then Naruto opened his eyes, peeking at Ayaka. Ayaka backed off and went over to her mom.

"Who woke me up?" Naruto sat up, his voice sounding firm. Ayaka pointed at her mother in which Sakura just laughed. "I doubt it was your mama, little girl." Naruto said. Ayaka's eyes widened and she made a run for it, but before she could, Naruto got hold of her and started tickling her. Ayaka squealed.

"I won't do it again, Na-chan!" Ayaka surrendered. Naruto let her go and laughed. "Good morning." Ayaka smiled, also planting a kiss on Naruto's cheek.

"Good morning angel. What are we doing today?" Naruto asked sweetly, Sakura just watched them, they really got along well.

"It's Saturday!" Ayaka squealed, much louder this time.

"Aya-chan, it's still early, don't squeal too much." Sakura told her with her motherly voice. Ayaka and Naruto just stared at her and after so much staring, they got back to talking. _'What? Ignoring me, are you?' _She thought. These two REALLY got along well.

They got up and Sakura prepared breakfast. Their house was a normal bungalow house that had 2 bedrooms, a living room, a dining room and the kitchen. They don't need much and they don't want to spoil Ayaka. Ayaka was happy enough to live in a real house. They ate breakfast energetically, loudly even. It has always been loud inside the house, with the common bickering between Naruto and Sakura and of course, the loud talks that Naruto and Ayaka made. The morning passed by and soon it was time for lunch, the three of them were watching television when a commercial of a restaurant popped up.

"Mama! Let's eat lunch outside!" Ayaka said enthusiastically in which Naruto quickly agreed.

"Yeah, Sakura, it IS Saturday after all." Naruto said, clearly wanting to get out of the house. Sakura sighed in defeat, these two really made a good team.

"Okay. What do you want to eat?" She asked both of them, their eyes sparkled.

"Steak!" Ayaka said. "Ramen!" Naruto said. Sakura stared at them for a long time and decided.

"Steak it is!" She replied, favoring her daughter over Naruto. Ayaka stuck her tongue out at him at his defeat and hugged her mother in the process. "We'll try to get you some ramen later." She added with a smile.

"No, it's okay." Naruto laughed. Sakura got Ayaka and they both went to take a bath and get dressed.

Naruto was left to alone, thinking. He can't blame Ayaka for wanting steak, it was _that guy's _favorite too. After all, Naruto had seen a lot of _that guy _in her. He shrugged it off and got dressed.

* * *

They were walking to the famous steak house in their town and noticed that people were staring at them with confused eyes. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"They should have been used to us already, we've been here for almost a year." Sakura said, not hiding her annoyance.

"Well, it _is _still a bit weird. I have blonde hair and you have pink hair, but this little girl here," Naruto said, looking at Ayaka with a smile, "has raven hair. It doesn't add up." Naruto said, his voice sounding unbothered.

"I know that, but still, these people just won't grow up." Sakura still continued.

They reached the place and sat down on one of the empty tables. They ordered Ayaka's favorite steak for her and the rest were decided by Naruto. Ayaka sat next to Naruto and continued playing with him.

"Your mama is staring at us." Naruto told Ayaka and indeed, Sakura was staring at them, she just smiled.

"You're closer to her than I am. I'm jealous." Sakura laughed while Naruto and Ayaka just stuck their tongue out at her. "Really, you two, being so cruel is bad." Sakura continued.

They ate happily and talked a lot while eating, Ayaka did most of the talking, from butterflies, to ponies, to airplanes. She really was a clever girl.

"Mama, I want to pee." Ayaka suddenly said, she had been drinking a lot of water since they arrived.

"Okay, I'll come with you." Sakura said, standing up, but Ayaka stopped her.

"No Mama! I want to go alone, I'm a big girl now." Ayaka had this big smile on her face. Sakura frowned.

"Are you sure? You might need my help." Sakura repeated. Naruto sighed.

"Let her try Sakura, she can do it. Besides, I can watch and see if she goes in and emerges out alive." Naruto joked. Sakura just stared at him blankly.

"Not funny Naruto." Sakura retorted that made Naruto shush up at once. "Okay honey, but be quick." Sakura said, Ayaka nodded and dashed off.

Sakura changed so much since she had Ayaka. Everything that is important now is Ayaka and nothing else and she was definitely grateful to have Naruto by her side all the time, with all the care he has for Ayaka, she'll never ask for more. _'I just hope I can love you just as much as you love me.' _She thought, staring at him.

* * *

Ayaka finished peeing all by herself, _'Ayaka is a big girl!' _She thought proudly. She got out of the comfort room when a man that passed by her caught her eye. She glanced at him and she didn't know why, but she felt her feet were taking her to him. She tugged at the man's pants and he looked down at her and she smiled.

"Hello." Ayaka said with the biggest smile she ever offered to a person.

He looked at her. He found her really cute and he couldn't help but crouch down and pinch her puffy cheeks.

"Well, hello there, little girl. Can I help you?" He asked. _'Funny. She seems familiar' _He thought. He looked like her; he knew he looked like the little girl in front of him, that's maybe why he grew fond of her in one look.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just think you look nice and I say hi to nice people." Ayaka replied, feeling happy to be talking to the man.

"I see. You're a very nice girl too." He said and then he picked her up and swished her in the air, making her squeal.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura were talking and suddenly, Naruto froze and the look on his face was like he saw a ghost. Sakura frowned.

"What? Is there something wrong?" Sakura asked, worried about him. Naruto still stared and cleared his throat.

"You'll hate me if I tell you, but I know you'll hate me more if I don't." Naruto said, not taking his eyes off of what he's staring at.

"Tell me then." Sakura impatiently said; she doesn't like surprises. And then she remembered Ayaka was still not here, worried, she turned around just as Naruto said "Look around" with a sigh.

Her jaw dropped at what she saw, it can't be. She stood up and walked over to her daughter, forgetting all about Naruto at the table. She saw Ayaka being gently put down by _him _and they were both laughing. Finally, she reached them.

"Aya-chan, come with Mama back to the table." Sakura said pleasantly. She didn't look at the man and just bowed, "I'm sorry if she disturbed you." She said.

He just stared at her, utterly in shock, but he quickly recovered, regaining his cool self. "You can't hide. Your hair is a dead giveaway." He blurted out and this caught Sakura's attention.

_'Shoot. How can I forget that my hair is pink? Stupid.' _She thought, mentally hitting herself and blasting herself off to Mars. Still, she didn't look up and just continued to look at her daughter.

"You've got a really sweet daughter." He said, still in his cool manner.

"Thanks." was all she had managed to say. Ayaka smiled.

"Mama! He looks just like me! And he's very nice." Ayaka said. Sakura felt like she had been punched right into her stomach.

_'How can you mention that now Aya-chan?' _She thought, panicking. "Really now? Well, we'll go back to the table now, won't we?" Sakura said in her very authoritative motherly voice that Ayaka never fails to follow.

"That's right, she looks exactly.." He paused and his eyes widened. "..like me." He ended and then he realized that Sakura was running away. "Stop right there, Sakura." He commanded. Sakura immediately halted.

'_How can he still have that control?' _Sakura thought angrily. Then she heard Ayaka ask, "You know him, Mama?" Sakura nodded.

"You have got some serious explaining to do." He continued. Sakura turned back and looked at him.

"I know that Sasuke, but I'll accompany her back first before I start to rant." Sakura said, finally acknowledging him.

Sasuke nodded and just stood there, watching where she was heading to. He was surprised that she stopped and placed the girl next to the yellow-haired monkey that he'd recognize anywhere. _'She's with Naruto?' _He thought, quite aloud that his face was kind of distorted for a second, but was back to normal after another.

* * *

Sakura, on the other hand, explained to Ayaka that Sasuke was her friend from the past that she didn't see for a long time.

"Mama is just going to talk to him for a while, ok?" Sakura said, addressing Ayaka and Ayaka nodded. Sakura was about to leave when Naruto's hand caught hers. She looked at him, forgetting that he's there and remembering that he's worried.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Sakura." He said, clearly worrying about Sasuke and her spending time alone, even if it's in public. Sakura sighed, she didn't want to either.

"It'll be fine." She reassured him, but still, his hands gripped tightly on hers.

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked with doubt in his voice and this pissed her off. Thank goodness that her daughter is too busy doing something else that she wasn't listening at all. Still, she went closer to Naruto to lower her angry voice down.

"Naruto, it's not like I'll talk to him and reconcile afterwards. Stop being such an idiot." Sakura said, pulling her hand away from his. Harsh, she knew that, but Naruto adding up to her problems is definitely pissing her off more. She walked towards Sasuke who was still waiting for her.

* * *

He stared at her, not showing any kind of emotion on his face. He looked at her built, nothing much had changed but her waist definitely grew bigger. _'Most probably because she gave birth.' _He thought. He stared at everything else, _'Her breast is fuller too. I guess having a baby isn't that bad at all for her.' _He continued to think, now accompanied with his trademark smirk. He didn't realize that she was already in front of him and he was still staring.

"What are you staring at?" She snapped. Sasuke cleared his throat.

"Nothing. I was just wondering..something." He said, not clearly sure on what excuse to give. "Let' go outside to talk, there's too many people here." He said, grabbing her elbow and dragging her out.

Once outside, Sakura pulled away from his grip and stood there, arms crossed over her chest.

"What do you want to know?" Sakura asked; her brave and confident personality triggering. She hasn't used this at all since she gave birth; she had been really gentle at everything and everyone.

"Of course I want to know everything. How old is she?" Sasuke asked in his cool voice.

"She's 6." Sakura replied coolly. Sasuke gave her a questioning look. "What?" She asked.

"How old are you?" Sasuke asked, really trying hard to remember how old she was. Sakura's eyes widened, _'The nerve of this guy.' _She thought but decided to let it go.

"I'm 25. Do you really need to know that?" She asked. _'You didn't even remember that? I'm only a year younger than you!' _was what she really wanted to say, but she kept it to her inner self to shout.

"You had her at 19? That's young." He said, nonchalantly. This time, it made her blow up into pieces.

"Well, I wouldn't have had her so young if you had been able to control yourself at all possible costs!" Sakura said aloud, but not quite shouting.

"So, she _IS _mine, isn't she?" Sasuke said conversationally. _'How can he even talk like that at a time like this?' _Sakura thought.

"Of course she's yours! You.." –_still hot and still sexy- _"..idiot!" She ended. She stopped at what she thought in between. Did she really just think that? _'I hope not.' _She thought, now mentally kicking herself on the ass.

Sasuke was now silent. He had been deprived of his own daughter for 6 years. It may not have been easy knowing that he was a father, but still, he had the right to know. "You raised her for 6 years and you didn't even bother to tell me about it?" He said, now his uncaring tone gone.

"Well yeah, what did you expect? That after having her I will just go look for you and say.." she paused and talked in a very conversational and casual voice, "Hey, long time no see, did you know that I got pregnant and had a child after you _**seduced**_me and got me to do _**it**_ with you?" She ended her act, "Are you insane? If I did that you're going to die because of a sudden heart attack!" She said aloud. _'This is taking longer than I thought.' _She thought.

"What?" He said, a little surprise heard in his tone. "You could have mailed me and told me that I was a father." He argued, "And let me set things straight, I _clearly _did not seduce you." He said, "You sought me out on your own." He ended, a hint of pride in his voice. Sakura snorted.

"God, I can't believe that after all these years, you haven't changed a bit." She said in a defeated voice. Sasuke smirked.

"Why? Are you still unable to resist my charm, devastating good looks and overall perfectness?" Sasuke boasted. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Fuck you to hell." She replied. She turned her back at him, but stopped. "You have all you need to know, don't bother me anymore." She said, walking back to the restaurant.

"Wait." He quietly said, too quietly that it made her stop in an instant. _'Shit! I stopped again at his command. What's wrong with me?' _She thought. "What are you doing with Naruto?" He asked.

Sakura was caught by surprise. She had forgotten about Naruto inside, all she was thinking about was Sasuke and Ayaka. She kept herself composed and looked back. "I'm his wife." She simply said and walked away.

Sasuke stared at the spot where Sakura disappeared.

_I'm his wife. _

It kept coming back to his head as if punching his brain until it stopped working. He closed his eyes and calmed himself down. He shouldn't be thinking like this at all. He opened his eyes again and instantly saw a girl's long blonde hair swish right at him.

"Everything all right, Sasuke?" She asked, clinging onto his arm. Sasuke just smiled.

"Yes Ino, I'm sorry I was gone for so long." He said, walking with her towards the car. "I also forgot to buy the steak you asked." He said in his bored tone.

"No worries, I told them to buy ramen instead. Let's go?" Ino said. Sasuke nodded.

Right, he was in no position to be thinking about another person's married life when he has his own right in front of him. He stared at Ino and tried to focus on her only.

_I'm his wife._

He shuddered. Ah, this will definitely drive him crazy.

* * *

**A/N: So, uhm. How was it? Was it bad? Tell me if it is. And sorry if there are a lot of mistakes, I didn't proofread this one, too lazy to do so since it's already 12:30-ish a.m. here. I hope it's not bad that it'll make you nauseous. Really hope not. **

**I'll appreciate reviews too, of course. And suggestions. Help me make my characters better? To those people who's been with Naruto characters all their lives, help meeee. :D Thank you oh so very much! ^_^**

**I'll be sleeping now.**

**December 16, 2010 [Thursday - 12:40 a.m.]**

**Philippines**


	2. Choice 2: Accidental Meeting

**A/N: Hello again. I thought I wouldn't be posting for a pretty long time. But I was bombarded with ideas so here it is, the finished product. Haha. Just one review eh. Sigh. I guess I'll wait until I finish chapter 4 to decide if I should continue this or not. I'm having a bit of a problem regarding the characters. Sigh. It's fine for me, I guess, but for you guys, I don't think you'll agree to an OOC Sasuke. So, if I don't figure out how to write him properly, I'll have to quit. Don't worry, I'll give you 4 chapters until I decide. ^_^**

* * *

**_A.J - I quite like Ayaka too. Thanks! You're the first to review! ^_^ Review very much appreciated. :D_**

* * *

**Here you go. 2nd chapter. ^_^**

**Disclaimer: _you know the drill._**

* * *

**Choice # 2: Accidental Meeting**

* * *

It had been a day since the talk between Sakura and Sasuke. Sakura was pacing the room, thinking hard about what happened. She looked around the room, sighed and began pacing again. Naruto and Ayaka went out to buy some stuff and she was left alone inside the house.

'_I don't know what to do. What am I going to do?' _She thought, still pacing. Suddenly, the doorbell rang and Sakura's eyes were filled with delight. She ran to open the door and a pair of white, lavender eyes met hers.

"Hinata." Sakura sighed; glad that Hinata finally arrived. Hinata entered the house in a very quiet and graceful manner. She turned around and smiled sweetly.

"You called?" Hinata said in her well-mannered tone. Sakura suddenly burst as she ran to her and hugged her tight.

"HELP MEEE!" Sakura pleaded; her usual self gone and her old, unpredictable self emerging. Hinata sighed as she patted Sakura's back.

"I suppose it's really something bad. You don't usually call me with that urgent voice." Hinata replied with a quiet laugh. Sakura nodded and dragged her off to the living room. Hinata, however, looked around, as if trying to find something, or rather, someone.

"They went out." Sakura said, knowing that Hinata was looking for Naruto. Hinata nodded and Sakura instantly felt bad. "I'm sorry." She said quietly. Hinata just smiled sweetly at her.

"Again with the apologizing." Hinata smiled, "It's been a year Sakura, let it go." She added. It has been a year since Sakura and Naruto got married.

Of course Sakura couldn't let it go. She agreed to marry Naruto even though she knew that Hinata loved him deeply. She can never forget that or even forgive herself for what she did. Hinata knew that she did it for her daughter but deep inside, Sakura knew that Hinata felt bad and probably angry as well, so she never stopped apologizing to her everytime they see each other.

"So, what is it that you want my help about?" Hinata asked, sitting down on the couch and looking at the picture placed on the side table. She grabbed it and stared at the picture of Naruto and Ayaka who were happily laughing.

"Hinata! Something ridiculous happened yesterday. It was.." Sakura started, but she stopped. She thought hard, _'Am I really supposed to be telling her this?' _Then, another voice inside her head answered her.

'_**You know she'll get angry since she still loves Naruto.'**_

'_Inner? Why are you out? Anyway, should I tell her that I'm confused?' _Sakura asked her inner self and in her mind, inner Sakura started slapping the lights out of her.

'_**Of course not, you idiot! That'll be a big problem. Oh yeah, I still haven't forgiven you for shutting me down for 6 years.' **_

Her eyes widened and it's not because she was back to being insane again, but it's because Inner Sakura was right, Hinata will be angry at her but won't show it since she always wore that calm and timid expression on her face. _'I think I better not tell her.' _Sakura decided. She noticed Hinata smiling.

"Uchiha-san is back and _you_ acting like _that_ is because of him." Hinata said simply. She looked at Sakura with her serene expression. "You're confused." She ended.

"Uhm. You don't have to say it like that." Sakura said quietly. _'Damn, I forgot she's so smart. How did she even figure that out?' _She thought, cursing herself for not being able to decide earlier. "I'm not really confused, just, you know, surprised." She defended herself. Hinata sighed and Sakura sat down beside her.

"You don't have to hide from me Sakura, I'm your best friend. I've only seen you act like yourself- yes, you're acting like your _real_ self." Hinata said when Sakura gave her an unbelieving look, "whenever Uchiha-san is involved." Hinata ended. Sakura snorted. "So, what exactly happened?" Hinata asked, now looking intently at Sakura.

"Well, I saw him with Aya, apparently, Ayaka took a liking to him and approached him herself." She narrated. "It was definitely weird, seeing them together like that, I never even dreamt of it." It was true, in all her dreams, Ayaka would always say that his papa is never coming back. "Then he just recognized me and he realized that Aya looked like him and he started asking questions which is so not like him at all. You know him, he's a quiet guy and he's not usually interested in anything but himself. Do you think I should've just ignored him?" Sakura asked, her eyes begging for answers. She saw Hinata thinking deeply and she remembered that it was the reason she wanted to tell her, because Hinata thinks first before doing or saying anything, unlike her who mostly does everything on an impulse.

"I think it was all right for you to answer his questions, seeing as it is bound to happen soon. And you're right, it's weird for him to talk a lot." Hinata replied conversationally. "But let me tell you this, you can't expect that this is the last time you'll be seeing him." Hinata added.

Inside Sakura's head, '**Inner'** started to hit her with a boulder the size of a grown bear. She was thinking of that, of course, that Sasuke was not going to look for them again, but Hinata went all out and said it straight to the point that he will be coming back. Noticing Sakura's twitching face, Hinata just raised her eyebrow at her.

"You didn't actually think that this will be the last of him, right?" Hinata asked, but knowing what the answer was, she sighed. "It's his daughter, it's normal that he'll seek her out." She said in an as-a-matter-of-fact voice. "But you, what will you do?" Hinata asked. Sakura crumbled to the ground, losing all her strength. "Seeing you crumble like that, I doubt you can handle this." Hinata said, disappointed.

"What will I do? WHAT?" Sakura panicked. She started pacing again, thinking deeply of what possible and impossible things that might happen. Hinata just watched her. "I can't do this, I never imagined him knowing! I was happily living a normal life until yesterday!" Sakura said and she just cracked and collapsed on the couch.

"How can you have two different personalities in you?" Hinata asked Sakura. "You're very gentle towards everything when Aya-chan is there, but you're like on crack when she's gone. Crazy." She commented. Sakura sighed.

"It's not easy. I've never released this old beast inside of me since I had Aya. I don't know how to control it." Sakura said, sounding like there are really two persons inside her that's controlling her.

* * *

Sasuke was lying down on his bed, looking straight up at the ceiling and was thinking deeply. He became unfocused since yesterday's encounter with Sakura. He never expected to see her on the day that he comes back, never in his life. The door opened and it revealed his brother, he sighed.

"If you're not getting up, I swear I'll drag you out of this room by foot." Itachi threatened. Sasuke just shrugged, ignoring his brother. His brother is the only reason why he's here anyway. "If you don't get Haruno out of your head, Ino's going to get mad." Itachi pointed out.

"Hn." Sasuke simply said. He stood up, Itachi was right, there's still Ino that he needs to think about; she'll get hurt when she finds out though he always does hurt her accidentally or on purpose. He walked towards the door and stopped beside his brother. "Be thankful that I thought about Ino's feelings, jerk." He said coldly. He hated his brother a lot.

He went out of the room and walked towards the yard where Ino was sitting on a bench. The Yamanaka family really had a big house, not to mention a big lot. He tapped Ino's head and sat beside her.

"Hey." He said in his uncaring tone. _'Why am I doing this anyway? I'm not even trying hard.' _He thought to himself. He saw Ino smile at him.

"Hey. I wondered when I'll see you; you seem to love our room, don't you?" Ino said in her sweet voice. Sasuke knew that Ino was trying hard to please him; he avoided to shrug so as to not make her feel bad.

"Quite." He said coolly. He never loses his cool on anyone, _'Except for that pink-haired girl.'_ He thought as he remembered her hair, then his thoughts were filled with her face, her eyes, her lips and her body. He lost focus again and then shrugged.

"Are you okay?" Ino asked, noticing that Sasuke just looked unfocused. "By the way, even though we just came back, Dad says that he wants you to work, so you'll be working tomorrow." Ino said. Sasuke stared at her.

"Work?" Sasuke asked. It was fine for him to work, if it means being busy and occupying himself, rather than be stuck in..

_I'm his wife._

It came back again. Sakura's words entered his mind again unknowingly. He was getting pissed off at it. Work is much better than having to hear those words over and over again inside the big, quiet house they live in.

"It's in our company. I don't know what position you're in, but Dad just wants you to be there. He believes that you're clever enough to do almost anything." Ino said, quite proud that her Dad believes in her husband.

"Really." Sasuke replied nonchalantly.

"One liners again huh." Ino noticed talking about Sasuke's replies. This made Ino feel bad, it seems that Sasuke does not care at all. Sasuke noticed this and sighed. _'Pain in the ass, this is.' _He thought glumly.

"Let's go out." Sasuke offered, hoping that this will take her mind off his monosyllabic answers.

"Shopping?" Ino asked, now her eyes are full of excitement. Sasuke just nodded in reply and was immediately hugged by Ino, blushing. "I love you." She whispered.

"Hn." He replied. _'I don't even have a better comeback to that. Disappointing.' _He thought, but Ino seemed fine, so he let it go. Ino stood up and seeing that they were both dressed already, she grabbed Sasuke's hand and practically dragged him to the car.

"Open the doors, we're going shopping." Ino said enthusiastically. The driver opened the door and drove them to the nearest shopping place. Ino noticed that Sasuke was quiet all throughout the ride, _'Well, he's never been much of a talker after all. Patience, Ino.' _She told herself.

* * *

After a relatively short ride, they arrived in Shibuya. Ino's eyes shone brightly as she saw the usual crowd that she has not seen for 5 years. The two of them alighted the car with Ino shoving her bodyguard away so she can have some time along with Sasuke. She clung onto Sasuke's arm and dragged him inside the most famous shopping spot in Shibuya, the Shibuya 109.

"Stop dragging me." Sasuke coldly said, annoyed and then pulling his hand away from her arms. Ino pouted, but Sasuke did not find it cute at all.

"Fine, okay. You'll shop with me though, right?" Ino smiled radiantly. Sasuke nodded, his eyes exploring the place as they walked. Ino squealed happily.

They went into every shop Ino could think of, or rather, they went to any open shop at that place. Sasuke was carrying a lot of shopping bags and Ino was carrying a lot as well. Imagine how many that is. Just then, Ino stopped, Sasuke looked at the shop she was staring at. It was a jewelry shop.

_'Figured.' _He thought. He looked at Ino and she was now staring at him with hopeful eyes. Sasuke just looked at her with his bored eyes. "What?" He said, not really asking. Ino clung onto his arm again, blushing.

"Buy me something sweet." Ino said, her blush creeping up to her forehead. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her and smirked, he started walking which made Ino look at him, confused but was walking along with him. "Where are we going?" She asked.

"Ice cream." Sasuke said simply. Ino's eyes widened and he pulled his arm so forcefully that it made him stop. Sasuke looked at her with the smirk plastered on his face. "What?" He said for the second time.

"I did not mean that literally! I was talking about jewelry!" Ino shouted, attracting attention from other shoppers. Sasuke sighed as he was pulled inside the jewelry shop.

Inside, Ino was looking at all the jewelry they were offering; from necklaces to anklets to earrings and rings. She was constantly tugging at Sasuke's arm when she sees something she likes but will be quickly turned down with a cold 'No' from him.

"You really have a handsome boyfriend miss." The saleslady said. All of the salesladies inside the shop were practically drooling over him from the time they entered. Ino rolled her eyes.

"He's not my boyfriend." Ino said. Suddenly, the girls started to say flirt lines to which Ino replied, "He's my husband." She said. All the girls cried out in despair, but Sasuke wasn't paying attention anymore.

He was looking at something, something outside the shop's windows. Surprisingly, what he was staring at came inside the shop with a big, radiant smile. Sasuke suddenly felt warm and happy, which he doesn't usually feel, as he heard the familiar voice.

"Mama will surely like this.." Ayaka squealed as she saw a pretty earring and was jumping up and down while pointing at it. "..Na-chan." She ended.

Sasuke failed to notice that Ayaka was with someone else. He tore his eyes away from the girl and onto her companion. He saw a familiar blonde haired guy who suddenly squatted down to see what Ayaka was pointing at.

"Do you really think so Aya-chan?" Naruto told Aya, eyeing the same earring. Ayaka nodded; then she held Naruto's hand that made him look at her.

"Will you buy it?" Ayaka asked sweetly, looking into Naruto's eyes. Naruto saw her onyx puppy dog eyes, but he couldn't help thinking about something.

_'She looks exactly like Sasuke that it's weird to see her making that face._' Naruto thought, a shudder went through him, but was gone quickly too. "I don't think Mama will like us buying stuff that we don't need Aya-chan." Naruto said with an apologetic smile. "Maybe next time." He ended.

"I'll buy it for you." Sasuke interrupted, his hands free from Ino's grasp as she was brought to the other part of the room where there are more jewelries to choose from. Naruto and Ayaka looked up and Naruto saw the same onyx eyes staring at them.

"Sasuke." Naruto said simply, standing up and offering a hand to him. "Long time no see." He said.

"Naruto." Sasuke replied nonchalantly, taking his hand and shaking it to be polite. _'I believe we just saw each other yesterday.' _He thought. He looked down at Ayaka and saw her with a huge smile on her face. Sasuke squatted down low for her and gave her his most sincere smile. "Ayaka." He simply said. Ayaka squealed much louder than before.

"Steak-san!" Ayaka screamed, lunging forward and hugging Sasuke tightly, this surprised Naruto. He never thought that Ayaka would be this approaching to someone she only met once. He remembered that he had to have a week with her before she became friendly towards him. "Steak-san! Steak-san!" Ayaka repeated over and over again. Sasuke gave a quiet laugh that only Ayaka heard.

"Steak-san? You still don't know my name but you're hugging me." Sasuke said, pinching Ayaka's nose at which she giggled cutely. _'Sakura didn't tell her at all.' _He thought.

"Ayaka knows that Steak-san is nice." Ayaka said with a big grin. Then, she stared at Sasuke's face for a long time, putting her hands on his cheeks as if inspecting it. "Steak-san really looks like Ayaka." She said very quietly, marveling at Sasuke's face. Sasuke just smiled.

"Yes. You said that before. Ayaka, you can call me Sasuke." Sasuke said gently. Ayaka nodded. They were completely ignoring Naruto on the side until he interrupted.

"Ayaka, be polite. You'll call him Uchiha-san." Naruto objected, not really fond of the idea that Ayaka will be on first name basis with Sasuke. _'This close is good enough.' _He thought. Ayaka looked at Naruto and crossed her arms on her chest.

"Hn." She said. Naruto and Sasuke were surprised. _'Whoa. That was weird, felt like I saw myself for a second.' _Sasuke thought.

_'That is her first time doing that.' _Naruto looked at Sasuke who was still looking at Ayaka. _'This guy is contagious.' _He thought. Ayaka glanced back at Naruto, pouting.

"Na-chan, Sasuke-kun told me it was okay to call him _Sasuke-kun._" Ayaka told Naruto. Again, Sasuke was surprised at this little girl. _'Just now, she sounded like Sakura when she said my name. Extraordinary.' _He thought. Naruto just sighed in defeat.

"Okay." Naruto said which earned him a hug from Ayaka. Sasuke stood up and faced Naruto, his eyes cold and uncaring. "What?" Naruto asked.

"She calls you Na-chan." Sasuke said in a low voice. Ayaka was back in staring mode at the earrings she saw earlier. Naruto gulped.

"It's her…term of endearment." Naruto said, roughly making his way out at Sasuke's words. Sasuke just smirked and Naruto knew that he was thinking about why Ayaka doesn't call him Papa. Ayaka tugged on Sasuke's pants.

"Sasuke-kun, you said you were going to buy that." Ayaka told him, pointing at the earring. Sasuke nodded, but Naruto protested.

"We're not buying it, thank you for you offer though." Naruto said with a pouting Ayaka hitting him on the side. Sasuke stared at him.

"The girl wants it." Sasuke said simply, approaching the counter. It was Naruto's turn to give out a knowing smile.

"She didn't raise her like that." Naruto said. Sasuke stopped walking, wanting to strangle Naruto into oblivion.

_'Of course, he had to rub it in.' _Sasuke thought. Naruto was bragging about how he knows what Sakura wanted for Ayaka and how he was there to watch her and to know what's the right thing to do. _'She doesn't want to spoil her, I guess.' _Sasuke thought. "Fine." He said.

Ayaka looked at the two guys, confused at how they're acting. She tugged on Sasuke's pants again. "It's okay Sasuke-kun. Mama will get angry anyway if we buy that." She said.

"I'm sorry Aya-chan." Sasuke patted her head. He knew that Ayaka was quite mature for her age, or just clever. _'Probably got it from me.' _He thought.

"Sasuke-kun. Do you want to come over to our house? Mama is there!" Ayaka invited which made Naruto's eyes widen. Sasuke just smirked at Naruto's reaction, but refrained from trying to piss him off further as Ino would probably be out soon.

"Maybe next time Ayaka." Sasuke said, earning a relieved sigh from Naruto. He saw Naruto grab Ayaka's hand, who is currently pouting because Sasuke declined her offer.

"Say goodbye now Aya-chan. Mama's making dinner at home." Naruto said. Ayaka reluctantly nodded. She turned to Sasuke and gave a perfect bow and Sasuke bowed back, amused.

"Goodbye Steak-san, Sasuke-kun." Ayaka smiled and waved as they walked out of the shop, leaving Sasuke alone, well, not really.

He turned around and saw Ino staring at him like he's been cheating. She was tapping her feet to the ground and her arms are over her chest. Sasuke just calmly went to her.

"What?" He said again for the third time that day. He was back to his cold and nonchalant self once more. He started to walk out of the shop with Ino following closely behind him.

"Care to explain that? Was that Naruto you were talking to just now?" Ino asked, trying to keep up with Sasuke's pace. Sasuke just nodded. "So? Why were you talking to him? I haven't seen him in years, who's the little girl?" Ino asked.

_'You wouldn't want to know.' _He thought. "Friend." He said simply. Ino was annoyed to the point that she ran in front of him to stop him from walking.

"Why is it that when you're with me you always just say one word? I heard you talking to that little girl with so much energy and a LOT of words came out of that sexy mouth of yours." Ino said, ignoring the fact that she was arguing with him and still called him sexy. Sasuke stared at her.

"You're seriously jealous over that little girl?" Sasuke said, giving her a disbelieving and disappointed look that made her blush.

"I..wasn't. I was..just..just asking." Ino stammered. Sasuke started walking again. Ino followed behind.

"Good. Now, drop it." He said, hoping to close the subject about Ayaka and Naruto. Ino just sighed in defeat. Not long after that, they reached the car and were not talking all the way back to the house.

* * *

Back at Sakura's house, Naruto and Ayaka arrived with some shopping bags that have clothes for Ayaka herself. They entered the living room and saw Hinata and Sakura talking seriously. Ayaka did her trademark squeal, signaling that she's back.

"Hina oba-chan!" Ayaka screamed as she ran to hug Hinata. Hinata just welcomed Ayaka's hug, but she sighed from hearing the word 'Oba-chan'. She looked up and saw Naruto staring at her and Ayaka with a smile, Hinata blushed. She looked back at Ayaka and pinched her cheek.

"Aya-chan, I told you, don't call me Oba-chan. Onee-san is okay." Hinata corrected her, Ayaka just smiled cutely, muttering 'I forgot'. Hinata stood up to acknowledge Naruto's arrival. "Uhm..hey." She said, stammering a little. She was still shy around Naruto. Naruto just smiled at her and pulled her into a hug.

"Long time no see Hinata!" Naruto said enthusiastically. Hinata blushed a deep crimson red. Her vision became blurry and everything was circling around her. Sakura saw this and pulled Naruto away from Hinata, fearing that she was going to faint soon.

"Hi. What happened today?" Sakura asked, grabbing Hinata's shoulder and calming her down. Naruto just looked confused and his eyes asking 'what did I do?'. Sakura rolled her eyes at him.

"Mama. I saw steak-san, oh, Sasuke-kun today!" Ayaka told her in a very energetic and happy voice. It was Sakura's turn to have her vision becoming blurry. She got a hold of herself and threw daggers of looks at Naruto.

"It was accidental. We bumped into him when Ayaka entered a jewelry shop." Naruto explained, throwing his hands up as if trying to surrender. Sakura sighed, she looked at Hinata. She wasn't going to be much of a help now since Naruto came back; Hinata always malfunctions when Naruto is around. She sighed again and smiled at Ayaka.

"What happened honey?" Sakura asked, trying to hide her surprise and worry. Ayaka told her everything that happened. After Ayaka was done, Sakura relaxed. _'Good thing he didn't come with her.' _was the only thing she thought. "Aya-chan, you had a great day." Sakura smiled. "Go and change your clothes so we can have dinner." She ended. Ayaka nodded.

"Relax." Naruto said, sitting down beside Sakura and running his hands up and down on her back, calming her down. Hinata went inside the bathroom to fix herself up after her embarrassing moment earlier. "It's not like you'll be seeing him again anytime soon." Naruto said.

"Yes. You're right. There will be work tomorrow." Sakura said. "Chances of seeing him are only on weekends when we go out." She ended. Naruto nodded.

"That's right. So loosen up, okay?" Naruto said, leaning in and kissing her lips gently. Sakura smiled and nodded.

_'That's right. Stop constantly thinking about him, you have Naruto beside you.' _She thought.

* * *

**A/N: I tried to improve Sasuke in this chapter. Did it work? I hope ti did. Haha. I was chanting _'I hope it works, I hope it works' _with my fingers crossed and my eyes closed everyday after I wrote this. hahahaha. LOL.**

**Oh, you probably noticed that Sakura's best friend here is Hinata. Just a whip of something fresh, 'coz I was told that Ino is usually her friend. I wanted to make things difficult some more for everybody involved. hahaha. I'm really bad, aren't I? Don't hate me. Hahaha. **

**We'll have SasuSaku moments next chapter people! Be prepared. LOL. [And I still don't know how to write them properly. I think _I _should be the one preparing. haha]**

**Oh, one last thing. Who want's a PERVERTED Sasuke? Well, if you've read my other fics, I'm quite fond of writing funny perverted stuff. hahahahahaha. LOL. T_T Just tell me, I'll gladly do it for you guys, and it's enjoyable for me too. LOL. :D**

**PLEASE REVIEW! [please? hahaha. *yuki-chan is desperate. Pathetic.* hahahahaha. :P**

* * *

**December 21, 2010 [Tuesday; 7:04 p.m.]**

**Philippines**


	3. Choice 3: You've Got to Be Kidding Me

_**2011-HAPPY NEW YEAR!-2011**_

******A/N: Hello again dear readers! I figured since it's new year, I might as well update early for you guys. Unwind and read before going back to school. :) I have classes myself as well for this coming week. Good luck to us all. Haha. I hope this chapter turns out good, I wrote most of this on New Year's Eve so it's kind of distraught. So sorry. Haha. ^_^ Also, I changed the genre to Romance/General since I feel that there's a lot involved here like Romance, Humor, Drama, and probably angst? hahaha. :)**

**I also noticed that I have new reviews! Thanks so much _raven rose 101, xralitsax _and _Kyasurin32. _And to all those who have added this to their favorite stories, thank you! ^_^**

**Here it is then, Chapter 3..**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto because if I did, I'd be on a vacation in France or on Mars. :)  
**

* * *

******Choice 3: "You've got to be kidding me"**

* * *

Naruto and Ayaka were quietly eating their breakfast, still not in the mood to chat because it was so early in the morning. Sakura was making Ayaka a bento box for her to bring to school. They all needed to leave before 7 a.m. so they won't be late. Ayaka's classes start at 7 and ends at 2 in the afternoon, Naruto sends her to school, picks her up when it's time for dismissal then drops her off at Hinata's place so he can continue to work. Naruto's job starts at 7:30 and usually ends at 5 p.m., while Sakura's job also starts at 7:30 and ends mostly at night. She rarely makes it home for dinner.

"Are we all ready to go?" Sakura asked, checking her watch only to see that it was almost 6:30. Ayaka finished her glass of milk, stood up and nodded.

"Yes mama." Ayaka replied. She went over to Sakura and stared at her. "Will you be here at dinner?" She asked. Sakura smiled.

"I'll try, you know I will." Sakura said, giving Ayaka a warm hug. Naruto stood up, grabbed his and Ayaka's bags and walked over to the pair.

"You'll be with me though, little angel." Naruto said. "Come on, we don't want to be late, don't we?" He said with a smile. Ayaka nodded and grabbed Naruto's hand and walked out.

* * *

Sakura parted ways with them on the bus stop and bid them goodbye. Her job was the other way around; it's near Shibuya but far from the busy streets. It was just a short ride away from home; she smiled at the security guard in front of the building. She kept on smiling at everyone she saw; she was known to be really friendly in the company. She entered the elevator and pressed number 12 then waited for the elevator to reach her floor. She got down and opened the door that was in front of her.

"Good Morning Sakura." A woman with blonde hair and dark green eyes greeted her. She was holding a lot of papers with drawings on her hands. Sakura smiled in reply.

"Want some help with that Temari?" Sakura asked, getting some of the papers from Temari's hands. "Where should I put this?" Sakura asked. Temari pointed a cubicle with her mouth; Sakura nodded and dropped all of it in Temari's cubicle.

"Hey, I heard the boss' daughter got married and just came home." Another woman, this one with long brown hair and brown eyes, said. Temari nodded and Sakura just looked surprised. It was the usual office gossip.

"Really? Where'd you get that from Tenten? He must be a great bachelor though." Sakura commented while looking at all the papers she just dropped. "What's all this? We need to sort all this?" She said, looking at a bunch of drawings of clothes and other related stuff.

"Must be." Tenten said, she also eyed the huge pile of papers in front of them. "Count me out, I have enough to sort. You two work together with that." Tenten laughed. Sakura and Temari shook their heads.

"Lazy bum." Temari said with a laugh. She looked at all the papers and sighed. "The production department should have sorted it all out before giving it to us." Temari said as she sat down and started rummaging through the papers.

"Yeah. The marketing department is not entitled to choose. They should present what we should start marketing. I really want to argue with them, but Tsunade-san is just _monstrous_." Sakura replied, Temari agreed. "I'll take half." She added, getting half of the papers and going to her own cubicle.

"Oh, I heard there'll also be an addition to us today. Ask Shika about it. He knows a lot." Tenten suddenly butted in, her head popping out of her cubicle.

Sakura sat down and started working on the papers. She was working on the marketing department of Yamanaka Fashion; there were a lot of employees in their department. Thankfully, their part of the group does not go out much and are just in charge of double-checking the production department's works. Shikamaru is ranked the highest in their group, even though he doesn't like to do much and next to him was Sakura. She doesn't gloat about it though; she gets along with everybody quite well. She was quietly and seriously working when Shikamaru approached her.

"Yo, Sak. Someone will be added to this department today, I was told that you didn't know." Shikamaru said.

"Right." Sakura said, not looking up. She checked her watch and saw that it's almost time for lunch. She looked at Shikamaru, waiting for an explanation about the 'new employee' matter. Shikamaru sighed.

"Must I explain everything?" He asked, Sakura nodded, "How troublesome. Okay, he's.." He started.

"It's a he?" Sakura interrupted.

"Yes. He's.." Shikamaru was again interrupted, now by a phone call. Sakura listened in. "Oh he's here? Should it be me?" Shikamaru talked over the phone, Sakura knew that he was being told to fetch the new guy. She knew him well, he doesn't like to do unimportant stuff. "Okay sir. Right away." He said as he clicked his phone off. He turned back to Sakura. "Well, I won't explain, you'll know soon enough." Shikamaru said as he exited the department, cursing under his breath and entered the elevator.

* * *

After a while, she heard Shikamaru entering again and she heard a lot of sighs and gasps from the girls in their department. Intrigued, she stood up, regretting it once she did. Standing right there was Uchiha Sasuke. She was going to sit again to avoid detection, but when she did, she fell right off of her seat, shoulder first, on the side, attracting everyone's attention.

_'Sakura, you idiot!' _She thought to herself. Now, Sasuke was definitely looking at her, surprised. Shikamaru sighed.

"Sakura, don't make a fool of yourself in front of the boss." Shikamaru told her. Sakura stood up, brushing off dirt from her body and clutching her shoulder that received most of the blow.

"I…what? The boss?" Sakura asked, blushing furiously from all the embarrassment though no one was actually laughing. She stared at Sasuke's face and saw his infamous smirk. _'What the hell?' _She thought, but she controlled herself.

"Yes." Shikamaru said. "This here is Uchiha Sasuke, Ino-san's husband, he'll be leading the marketing department from now on." Shikamaru told everyone. Everyone greeted Sasuke politely. He just walked quietly towards his office, which coincidentally, is in front of Sakura's cubicle.

"Small world, isn't it?" He stopped and whispered as he passed her, pissing her off even more. Sakura snorted. Shikamaru followed Sasuke with a sigh.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Sakura muttered under her breath. She watched Sasuke enter his office, rolled her eyes at him and went back to her cubicle. It's a good thing that the glass that was chosen for his office was preventing her from seeing him while she was on her cubicle; Sasuke do love his privacy. Suddenly, the girls ran towards her, intrigued.

"What was that about?" Temari asked. "Do you know him?" Tenten asked. Sakura sighed.

"A bit, yeah." Sakura said calmly. She looked up and saw them staring at her. "What?" She asked.

"Well? Tell us about it." Temari demanded. Sakura sighed again.

"There's nothing to tell." Sakura replied. The girls just kept on pestering Sakura about Sasuke.

* * *

Sasuke inspected his office. It was good enough for him, at least he wasn't assigned at the other department where they make the clothes; he's not going to do that at all. He's quite happy that he's at the marketing department, even though he doesn't like to talk much to other people. _'But that is why I'm leading, they're going to do all the talking and I'll just be instructing.' _He thought. What amused him more is seeing Sakura inside the office, he hadn't expected that. He looked at Shikamaru who was now sitting on one of the chairs inside his office. Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind.

"Get Haruno." He said simply. Shikamaru looked at him, stood up and went outside. When he came back, he was accompanied by a sulking Sakura and upon entering, she instantly glared at Sasuke. He smirked.

"What?" Sakura snapped. Shikamaru immediately slapped her on the back of her head, muttering 'be polite'. "Yes, Uchiha-san?" Sakura said again, through gritted teeth, massaging her nape.

Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest and started pacing. "I'm aware that Nara-san doesn't like doing boring things." He started, surprising Shikamaru, but he didn't protest. "So, you're going to take his job and be my secretary." He finished simply. Sakura's face went red in anger while Shikamaru's eyes widened with delight.

"Is that true, Uchiha-san?" Shikamaru asked, not believing what he heard. Sasuke nodded. "Yes! Thank you!" He replied. Shikamaru turned to Sakura and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Good luck!" He said, skipping outside the office, happy to be rid of the troublesome job assigned to him.

Sasuke sat down on his leather office chair and relaxed. He glanced at Sakura and saw her fuming with anger. Sakura started walking towards his desk and landed a heavy hand on it. Sasuke just stared, quite amused, but not letting out any emotion.

"What the hell? I don't want to be your secretary!" Sakura protested. Sasuke ignored her. "Pick someone else!" She said. Sasuke looked at her, eyeing her from head to toe that made her feel vulnerable.

"Hn." He retorted. Sakura's eyes widened at his attitude. She walked over to his chair and stood in front of him courageously.

"Don't _'hn' _me. I've had enough of that before. There's a lot out there who _definitely _wants to be your secretary and I'm not one of them." Sakura continued to protest. She didn't care if she was heard outside; she would do anything to keep Sasuke away from her. Sasuke smirked at her, she gulped.

He stood up then slowly walked towards her, making her step back. It didn't take long before she hit the wall. Sasuke was cornering her and his hands were placed on either side of her face to prevent her from escaping. Sakura didn't want to look at him in the eyes, but she didn't know where to look. When she tried to look down, she just saw his chest and that didn't help at all. So, she looked sideways, desperately avoiding him.

"Are you sure you're not one of them?" Sasuke whispered in her ear that made her shudder and made her heart skip a beat. Sasuke felt her tremble and a glint passed his eyes. "Nervous, Sakura?" Sasuke said in his cold voice that sent chills down her spine.

"Get off." Sakura blurted out. "Why are you doing this?" She said quietly, looking straight at Sasuke's eyes. Sasuke doesn't know himself, but he's not going to admit that.

"None of your business." He replied coldly. He looked at her eyes and then his gaze dropped down at her lips. In his mind, something's telling him that it's not right, but his body disagrees. He leaned in and Sakura's eyes widened.

_'No. No, I don't want to.' _She kept thinking, but her body won't move. She stayed frozen on the spot and soon, she felt his lips brush against hers and she knew she was trembling. Surprisingly, their lips did not meet, Sasuke backed away and sat back on his chair. It was because he heard Ino's voice and as if on cue, Ino entered the office. Sakura was still glued on the spot, her face flushed and her lips trembling.

"Sasuke-kun, how's…" Ino started, but she stopped when she saw Sakura frozen in one corner. "Haruno Sakura-san?" Ino said asked, a bit surprised. Sakura snapped out of it and saw Ino inside the room.

"Uhm. Good afternoon, Yamanaka-san." Sakura tried her best not to stammer. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I'm sorry, I'm going now." Sakura said. Sasuke just looked at her.

"I want the papers here after lunch." Sasuke said coldly. Sakura looked back, confused but Sasuke gave her a meaningful look and she understood.

_'He doesn't want her to know.' _She thought. "Uhm, yes, Uchiha-san." Sakura replied as she got out of the room.

Ino stared at the spot where Sakura vanished and looked back at Sasuke, who was now arranging his desk. Ino placed a bento box on his desk and offered it to him.

"Why was Haruno-san unfocused? What happened?" Ino asked, curious about what happened. She has no idea what relationship Sasuke had with Sakura. Sasuke shrugged.

"She's my secretary." Sasuke said in his bored tone. He opened the bento box and saw a lot of onigiri, sushi and some other stuff. He started eating it.

"Really? I thought you're secretary was Shika? But did something happen to Haruno-san?" Ino continued to ask. She eyed Sasuke. "You bullied her didn't you?" She continued.

"Hn." He answered, too busy eating his onigiri to care about what Ino is whining about. Ino sighed.

"Stop bullying others, will you? It's bad for the company." Ino tried to convince him. Sasuke just looked at her in a bored way and mouthed 'NO.' Ino sighed. "Fine. Just..behave, okay?" Ino said, not completely trusting another girl being Sasuke's secretary. Sasuke shrugged again.

"Why are you here?" Sasuke asked, now eating the sushi that was prepared for him. He noticed a handful of natto beans on one side and looked disgustingly at it.

"I just wanted to check on how you're doing." Ino said with a big smile plastered on her face. Sasuke just stared at her and shook his head.

"Don't you have a job somewhere?" Sasuke continued. Ino was now trying to suppress a giggle. It was unusual that Sasuke will continue a conversation with her, this was an improvement.

"Yes. I'm supposed to be at Yokohama by 2 p.m., but I don't want to go. It's so far away." Ino whined. Sasuke let out a disappointed sigh.

"That's just 14.05 miles away, if you don't want to go, I'll request a transfer to Hokkaido." Sasuke threatened, annoyed at how spoiled Ino is trying to act. Ino's eyes widened.

"No! Okay, I'm going. Why can't I just be here in Shibuya? That is so unfair." Ino continued to whine. She walked around to Sasuke's chair and placed her hands on his thighs, pouting cutely. "A kiss before I go?" Ino asked.

"Hn." Sasuke replied, trying to turn his chair around, but that didn't stop Ino from leaning in and kissing him. Sasuke just stayed there, not responding to her kiss or doing anything. He was just staring at Ino's closed eyes. _'You're just not her.' _He thought.

Ino knew that Sasuke was not in the mood, so she pulled away. _'I guess I should be satisfied with that since he didn't push me away or anything.' _She thought. She gave out a smile and waved goodbye, leaving Sasuke alone in his office. Sasuke place his head on his hand, wondering what the hell was he doing.

* * *

Sakura, on the other hand, was having a quiet lunch at the pantry. Everyone was just staring at her, surprised that she was not talking. Usually, the pantry is a noisy place with all the chatting, but Sakura was not in the mood and her being not in the mood, attracted everybody's attention.

"WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING?" She suddenly blurted aloud, surprising everybody. Sakura heard somebody coughing and a hand flew to her head, hitting her hard. "What the?" She said.

"That's right. What the hell are you doing Sakura?" Tenten said, patting a choking Choji. Temari was laughing maniacally at what was happening.

"Sorry. I was not myself." Sakura said and laughed with everyone. Shikamaru entered the pantry and sat on one of the empty chairs. Sakura saw him and pointed an accusing finger at him. "YOU! What the hell is wrong with you Shika?" Sakura said aloud. Shikamaru looked at her innocently.

"What? Most women would want to be Sasuke's secretary you know, you should thank me." Shikamaru said with a laugh.

"Whoa. You became Uchiha-san's secretary? That's great Sakura." Temari said, giving her a pat on the back. Sakura jut fumed.

"What's so fucking great about being his secretary? I don't even want to spend a second with that guy." Sakura said, not minding all the whispers around her concerning her relationship with Sasuke. _'If Naruto hears about this, I'll be dead.' _She thought. Then, she remembered Ino and how Sasuke gave her _that _look. _'He doesn't want to hurt her too.' _She thought.

"Too bad for you, you'll be spending everyday with him from now on." Shikamaru laughed. Sakura grabbed his collar, still fuming with anger. Everyone knew that no one should piss Sakura off; the girl can be as sweet as honey and as strong as a bear.

"You shouldn't have recommended me." Sakura said in a low and cold voice. Shikamaru gulped.

"I didn't." He choked. "He chose you himself." Shikamaru said. Sakura stared at him blankly, letting him go and losing all her energy.

_'Why is he doing this?' _She thought. She remembered that she asked that before when they were in the room, but failed to get an answer. She sighed. _'HE'S DEFINITELY DRIVING ME CRAZY!' _She thought.

* * *

Soon, lunch was over and it's time to go back to work again. Sakura stood in front of Sasuke's office door, just staring at it. Temari took the liberty of pushing her inside. As she entered, she noticed that the room was dark and the only light that was open is the lamp light on the side table. She saw Sasuke sleeping peacefully on his desk. She put down the papers that she sorted onto one side and decided to wake him up in a very disturbing manner.

_'HAH! Look how vulnerable you are. You're letting your guard down.' _She thought. She was about to shout 'wake up' when the lamp light touched his face. She stopped, her heart beating fast. She couldn't help but stare at the Sasuke she was seeing. She leaned closer, placing her hands on his desk to observe his features better. _'Such a peaceful face, it's rare.' _She thought with a sigh. "You're insane, you know that?" She muttered quietly. Just as she was about to move away, Sasuke grabbed her right hand. He looked up and smirked.

"No, I'm not." He said as he heard what Sakura muttered under her breath. Sakura tried to pull her hand away, but Sasuke was just too strong.

"Let me go. I brought the papers you asked." Sakura said, changing the topic. Sasuke reluctantly loosened his grip and let her go. Sakura sighed, giving him the papers he requested. "If you don't need anything else, I'll be going now." She said.

"Open the lights." He ordered her. Sakura shot him a deadly glare. Sasuke felt her stare and looked at her. "Quickly, and tell me what I have to do with these." Sasuke said.

"Will it kill you to say please, you crazy person?" Sakura snapped, but nevertheless, did what she was told. She opened the lights and walked back to Sasuke. "How would I know what to do with that? That's your job, not mine. You're smart, right?" She retorted.

"Hn." Sasuke replied. It wasn't that difficult for him to know what to do, he just wanted to let her stay for a while.

"If you need anything, please _**hesitate **_to ask." Sakura said firmly.

* * *

It was not too long when the office closed. Sakura checked her watch and saw that it was already almost 7 p.m. She rushed to pick up her things and go home. When she reached the front entrance, she felt the cold breeze in the air. _'Damn, I forgot my scarf.' _She thought, forgetting that winter has arrived. Her neck was exposed and every so often, felt winter chills. Sasuke just happened to pass by and stared at her.

"You're blocking my way, Sakura." Sasuke coldly said. Sakura stepped aside but Sasuke continued to stare at her. "Your lips are trembling." He noticed. Sakura glared at him.

"None of your business." Sakura replied. Sasuke let out a short, amused laugh that only lasted for about a millisecond.

"Here." Sasuke said, throwing Sakura his white scarf that was previously hanging on his neck. Sakura made an undistinguishable sound. "You're welcome." Sasuke said, a half-smile forming on his lips as he walked away towards his car.

_'He didn't even offer a ride home! How selfish!' _Sakura thought as she started imagining the comfort and warmth of a car. She wore Sasuke's scarf though because she can't deny that she needed it.

She just got off the bus and was walking towards her house. She took a deep breath. It was comfortable, Sasuke's scarf. It had the warmth that he can't give off usually. It had a smell that she recognized though she hadn't sniffed it for years. She sighed, blushed and held onto the scarf tightly. And just like giving her a reminder, she bumped head first into a lamp post. She stopped, rubbing her forehead.

"Damn lamp post." She cursed, still rubbing her forehead as she continued walking. "Damn forehead." She said again, this time cursing her big forehead.

'_**That lamp post just reminded you to stop thinking about Sasuke'**_

'_You again Inner? Well, I guess you're right, again.' _She thought.

'_**Put that scarf in your bag, you can't risk Naruto seeing it.'**_

* * *

She arrived at their front door, shoving Sasuke's scarf inside her bag. She opened the doors with her keys and entered the house. She heard Ayaka and Naruto eating dinner in the dining room, so she joined them.

"Mama! You made it to dinner!" Ayaka said, getting off her chair and running to hug Sakura. Sakura laughed.

"I told you I'll try." Sakura said. She saw Naruto in the kitchen and smiled, leaving Ayaka in the dining room. "Is there some for me?" She asked, walking inside the kitchen where Naruto was.

"Of course. I made soup because it's cold outside." Naruto said.

He faced her and leaned in for a kiss. Sakura smiled and closed her eyes, ready for the kiss. Just as she felt Naruto's lips on hers, Sasuke's face appeared on her mind. Her eyes shot open and her body stiffened. Naruto noticed this.

"Everything alright?" He asked, pulling away. Sakura got back to her senses.

"Uhm. Yeah, I'm just….tired." She said, quite convincingly since Naruto believed her. Naruto walked out of the kitchen and prepared the food. She went over to the sink and washed her face.

_'What the hell was that?' _She thought, her heart beating fast like when she saw Sasuke's sleeping face earlier. _'This is bad.' _She thought, glancing at her bag and seeing a white part of Sasuke's scarf.

* * *

**A/N: Was it too long? I've never written a chapter for a fic this long before, I'm really breaking my own record for this FF. It's fun though, writing this, but the idea is still all over the place. Haha. I hope to sort it out soon. :) I am so sleepy right now and I don't know what I'm doing so I'll just go...and vanish. Goodbye. :) [I'll proofread and edit this again after I regain my energy back.]**

**Oh, by the way, would you do me a favor and hit that REVIEW button right there? Thanks! :)**

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**January 3, 2011 [Monday; 1:28 A.M.]**

**Philippines**


	4. Choice 4: Dining Out

**A/N: Again, I'm updating early. I'm seriously spoiling you guys so much. I planned to post this after 2 weeks, but I guess I just can't. ^_^ I'm trying to not make this story lean into more of drama, Sasuke's character is very hard to associate with light-hearted-ness. It's difficult, very difficult. Okay, I'll answer reviews later on. Enjoy Chapter 4. Oh, and I'll probably continue on with the story, I find it really interesting to continue. I hope you guys want me to continue as well. ^_^ **

**Disclaimer: Uhm. Is this still needed? :P**

* * *

**Choice # 4: Dining Out**

* * *

Sasuke woke up the next day, with a sleeping Ino on his right arm. He sighed as he closed his eyes again. He had been dreaming a lot about Sakura and it was not good to do so, but he knew that he'll still lose himself when Sakura is around. He curled his right arm, pulling Ino into a hug. It was unusual for him to cuddle, but since he's at that position, he might as well do it.

"Good morning." She said, kissing Sasuke's neck. Sasuke grunted, not really thinking that it was a _good _morning. Ino laughed a bit. "Bad morning, is it?" Ino asked.

"Hn." Sasuke replied. He pulled away from her, having enough of the cuddling for a day because it made him sick. Ino frowned, but she didn't try to cuddle with him again, she doesn't want to ruin a good morning she just had. Sasuke stood up and stretched.

"Sexy." Ino said, staring at Sasuke's body. He's not the type who wears a shirt at night, so every morning, Ino is graced with his amazing body. Sasuke smirked.

"Don't need to remind me." He said nonchalantly, knowing his own body. Ino laughed.

"You're so full of yourself." She said, throwing a pillow at him. He caught it just in time and threw it back at her, purposely hitting her face. "Ow!" Ino whined. Sasuke shook his head.

"Get up. We have to go to work." Sasuke said, grabbing Ino's hand to help her get up. Ino did as she was told.

They quietly ate the breakfast that the Yamanaka family's kitchen crew whipped up. Ino was happily eating her pudding while Sasuke was just eating a lot of raw tomatoes. Ino eyed him while he was reading a lot of papers from work.

"What's that?" Ino asked pointing at Sasuke's paper works. Sasuke looked at it and then to her, he held it up for her to see.

"Papers." He said, not adding 'obviously' at the end of the word, but clearly heard in his voice. Ino frowned.

"I can see that. I meant, what about it?" Ino asked. Sasuke shrugged, taking another bite of his raw tomato.

"For work." He said, reading a lot of analysis about the company's marketing strategy. Ino looked at him, amazed.

"Workaholic." She commented as she took a bite of her toast. "Can you drop me off later at the subway? I'm supposed to be at Kofu today, dad is already waiting there." Ino said with a sigh, it was a pain that she's the daughter of the president, she's entitled to do a lot of things against her will and she was never in one place.

"Why don't you just let Hiro-san drive you there then?" Sasuke asked, recommending her driver and quite surprised that Ino wanted to ride public transport to Kofu.

"Dad said that I need to learn." She sighed again. Sasuke nodded, agreeing to his father-in-law. Ino was so spoiled that she knows little about her surroundings, even when they were in New York.

"Okay then." Sasuke replied, saying yes to Ino's request. Ino smiled.

"Let's eat out again later? Like yesterday?" Ino asked again. Sasuke sighed. _'Stupid dinner, I could've offered Sakura a ride home.' _He thought.

"I'll think about it." Sasuke said. Ino pouted, but decided to let it go.

They got dressed in their winter clothes because the cold breeze outside was unbearable. Ino stared at Sasuke and noticed that something was missing.

"Where's your scarf?" Ino asked. Sasuke looked at her, puzzled. Then, he remembered that he lent his scarf to Sakura last night.

"Must've left it in the office." He said, shrugging it off. Ino continued to look at him curiously. She knew that Sasuke was not forgetful. Her heart started beating fast, as if doubting her husband. She took a deep breath and let it out.

"Okay. Don't forget next time." Ino tried to smile and was successful in doing so.

Sasuke drove his car and as promised, dropped Ino off at the train station. She kissed him goodbye and he sped off.

* * *

He arrived at Shibuya on time and immediately went up to the marketing department. A lot of people greeted him, but he just ignored them and walked straight, not looking at anybody.

"Good morning, Uchiha-san." The employees in his department greeted him. He let his eyes roam around, looking for the pink-haired woman, but failing to do so. He nodded at everyone, acknowledging them.

He walked straight to his office and was surprised to see Sakura pacing around inside. He closed the door behind him, startling Sakura as she looked at him, surprised. She sighed, but Sasuke ignored her and walked towards his desk.

"Good morning Sasuke." Sakura said, greeting him nicely but her voice sounding awkward. Sasuke sat down, looked at her and waited.

"Do you have anything to say?" Sasuke asked as Sakura started pacing again. She sighed.

"I was going to return this." Sakura said, handing him his scarf that was from last night. "Thank you." She said. Sasuke still stared at her, reaching out to get his scarf.

"You're making a big deal out of it." Sasuke said, getting his scarf. _'I thought there was something wrong. This idiot.' _He thought. Sakura sat down in one of the chairs in front of Sasuke's desk, making her feel like a customer.

"I want to quit." Sakura said, looking down at her hands. _'Please say okay. Please say okay.' _Sakura chanted in her mind. Sasuke frowned.

"Why?" Sasuke asked, now interested in their conversation. Sakura looked at him, struggling to find an excuse. _'Of course. He's nosy.' _She thought.

"I..don't like you." Sakura blurted out, not smart enough to think of anything else. Sasuke gave her a smirk, stood up and walked over to her. She instinctively backed away.

"I doubt that." Sasuke said with his smirk. "Why?" He asked again, returning to his serious tone. Sakura's brows met.

"I'm not a good secretary." Sakura tried again. Sasuke still did not believe her, he still took a step forward towards her.

"I still don't believe that." Sasuke said. Sakura suddenly hit the wall.

'_Again with the wall! How I wish this place doesn't have a wall!_' Sakura thought, mentally hitting herself. Sasuke was now he leaning forward, his hands on his pocket as he tried to make Sakura look at him.

"I'll ask one last time. Why?" He asked firmly. Sakura gulped and she looked straight into Sasuke's eyes.

"I just..can't." Sakura said, her eyes looking deeply into his.

Sasuke's brows twitched for a moment as he stared at Sakura's. He reached out to touch her face; he was now at such close proximity that Sakura's head was beginning to spin. Sakura heard both of their breaths in the silence of the room and it was, as much as she hated it, exciting her and she blushed. Surprisingly, he withdrew and walked back, relaxing into his chair, earning him a confused look from Sakura.

"Naruto, huh?" Sasuke said, figuring out her dilemma. Sakura's eyes widened. _'Damn cat.' _He thought.

_'God, I thought he's going to kiss me again.' _Sakura thought to herself. _'Wait, he can still figure it out?'_

She knew that before, all it took him was to look at her and he'll figure out what was wrong. Even though they haven't seen each other for years, he can still do that to her which surprised her a lot. "I'm sorry." Sakura blurted out when she regained her power to speak again.

"You can't." Sasuke said in his business tone. "This became your permanent job since yesterday, if you quit, you'll end up having no job at all." He said. "You wouldn't want that, would you?" He added. Sakura stared at him. He's got a point and she knew that, she had been working at the company for 4 straight years already.

"This is ridiculous." She hissed, getting pissed off at what was happening.

"It is. Tell that cat to live with it." Sasuke rudely said. He grabbed a bunch of papers at his desk and started looking through them. "If there's nothing else, please do your work." Sasuke said, not looking up. Sakura sighed.

"Yes sir." She said and Sasuke knew that Naruto was defeated. He thought about what just happened.

_'Second time this week. You don't know how much I want to kiss you.' _Sasuke thought, looking at Sakura's retreating back. He grunted and then went back to the papers he was reading.

* * *

Sakura sighed, she grabbed her phone and clicked it open. She dialed Naruto's number, unsure of what to say to him. She heard it ring, then again and again. She was going to give up when she heard his voice.

"Hey." Sakura started in her 'I'm sorry' voice. Naruto sighed on the other line.

"You couldn't, could you?" Naruto said, Sakura nodded and then remembered that he couldn't see her.

"Yes. I'm sorry. He said that's my permanent job now." Sakura said, it was difficult to deal with these things for her. She lived independently and raised a child by herself before Naruto came and she couldn't just let her job go, it became part of her already.

"Are you sure you can't quit?" Naruto said still egging her on. Sakura sighed, now fed up.

"Yes. Live with it." Sakura said, her mind burning with lots of thoughts and she just have to shut him up because she already tried.

It pissed her off. This day isn't turning out to be great for her at all. She was pissed off at herself last night when she thought about Sasuke while being kissed by Naruto. She was pissed off that morning when Naruto told her to quit her job as Sasuke's secretary upon knowing it. She was pissed off that Naruto kept pissing her off and lastly, she was pissed off at herself because she definitely wanted Sasuke to kiss her right at that moment.

'_I lost it back there.' _She thought truthfully to herself. She shook it off and got back to work, praying that she'll survive work from now on.

* * *

Sakura buried herself in her work after that and Sasuke noticed this. It was way past lunch and Sakura haven't eaten yet. She heard her stomach growling and she sighed. At that moment, she felt something on her head and she looked up. Sasuke was holding a tupperware full of umeboshi on her head. Sasuke saw her eyes glimmer with delight and he sighed.

"Eat." He said simply. The employees were looking at the scene in front of them, wondering what kind of relationship Sakura and Sasuke had.

"Umeboshi." Sakura said in a kind of trance, completely forgetting what just happened earlier. She was looking at the food on Sasuke's hand and Sasuke couldn't help but smile a little. He handed it over to her and Sakura accepted it gladly. "Umeboshi." She said again. She looked up at a now walking away Sasuke. "Thank you!" She said happily. Sasuke just continued walking, smiling in his mind.

Without knowing it, darkness came and soon it was time for them to go home. Sakura was still buried in her work and was not paying attention. She was releasing her stress by doing a more stressful work. Sasuke emerged out of his office door and saw that most of the employees were going home, except Sakura.

"It's 7 p.m." Sasuke said, walking over to Sakura's cubicle. Sakura looked up at Sasuke for the second time that day. She frowned.

"What? Were you talking to me?" Sakura asked, not really paying attention. Sasuke rolled his eyes in a very _un-Sasuke-ish_ way.

"No. I was talking to the desk." Sasuke said sarcastically. "Of course I was talking to you." Sasuke said in his normal tone.

"Oh. Funny." Sakura said, standing up. "I wonder what happened to the Sasuke who doesn't talk much." Sakura commented, fixing all her things. Sasuke made an undistinguishable sound.

"So you don't like me talking?" Sasuke said. Sakura snorted. _'Habits never change.' _He thought as he heard her snort.

"Yes." She replied. "Kidding. I'm just not used to it." Sakura said with a sigh as she sensed his glare. Sasuke nodded in agreement, he too, was not used to him talking too much. He started walking away, Sakura looked at him. "Going home already?" Sakura asked. Sasuke's left eyebrow shot up, sensing interest in Sakura's voice, he turned back.

"No, if you want me to stay." He said in his low voice. Sakura's eye widened and she realized the tone of what she just asked, but she immediately recovered. Sasuke just stared at her, amused.

"No. Go home." Sakura said. "Stop flirting." She reminded him straightforwardly, although, she liked the attention, she always did.

"How would you know if I am?" Sasuke retorted. She had to turn around to conceal the smile forming on her face. Her phone started ringing and she looked at the caller's name, emotions mixed as it showed Naruto's name on it. Sasuke grunted and walked away, leaving Sakura alone. She picked up her phone and answered.

"Let's dine out." Naruto said once Sakura answered. Sakura frowned, wondering what it was about.

"If it's about the job, everything's all right now. I'm sorry I snapped at you." Sakura said. Also, she couldn't leave Ayaka alone and eat out with Naruto.

"No. We'll dine out, whether you like it or not." Naruto said in his commanding voice which is not normally heard. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Ayaka?" She asked simply. Naruto laughed at the other side of the line.

"Thankfully, Kakashi missed her so much that he's taking her to his place." Naruto said but still, Sakura wasn't convinced and Naruto felt this after the long pause. "Come on. We rarely have time alone." Naruto said. Sakura sighed.

"Fine. Where are we eating?" Sakura asked.

"We've always been eating steak." Naruto sighed. "The usual place." He added. "See you there?" He asked.

"Okay. I'm about to go. Bye." Sakura said. She clicked her phone off and headed out.

* * *

Sakura entered the perfectly middle class restaurant and saw Naruto waving at her with a big, goofy smile on his face. Oh what perfect way to end the day, but she's glad that they're not fighting. She walked over to where he was and was greeted with a kiss. She sat down.

"So, what are we eating?" Sakura asked. Naruto showed her the menu and she saw that it was opened on the ramen page. She laughed. "I kind of figured that out on my own." Sakura said.

"Well, I haven't had ramen for a long time. We can also order dumplings and umeboshi. Also amnitsu for dessert." Naruto said, indicating Sakura's favorite food. Sakura bit her lower lip, excited for the food.

"Okay then." She smiled, her favorite food never seizes to amaze and excite her. They were talking peacefully and were preparing to order when they heard a familiar, loud voice.

"Naruto?"

The couple looked around and saw Ino, tugging a very bored looking Sasuke along. Sasuke just looked coldly at the two while Naruto tried to give a sincere smile. Sakura looked sharply at Naruto, nudging him a little.

"You know her?" She hissed. Naruto nodded. Ino pulled Sasuke along with her as she grabbed a seat and sat down with Naruto and Sakura. Ino stared at Sakura.

"Eh? Haruno-san?" Ino asked, confused about why Sakura and Naruto were together. "You're acquainted." She said nicely, still clinging onto Sasuke's arm. Sasuke pulled his arm away, staring at Naruto and Sakura.

"Uhm. She's my wife." Naruto said, Ino's eyes widened in surprise.

"Really? How come I didn't know?" Ino asked, letting Sasuke go and squinting over to Naruto, interested in his story.

"Well, we were not really together when you met me." Naruto explained, giving Sasuke a quick glance.

"I see. Been a long time. It's been..what? Five years?" Ino saod. Naruto nodded. "Let's order then, my treat!" Ino declared. The three just stared at her in amazement.

"So much for our alone time." Naruto whispered in Sakura's ear that made her smile.

"Let it go." She whispered back, patting Naruto's hand. This earned them a glare from Sasuke.

He did not like the idea of going out to dinner, _again, _that night and he definitely didn't like the idea of sitting there in front of Naruto and Sakura and watching them flirt with each other.

"So, what are we eating?" Ino asked. She looked at the menu and after a while, rolled her eyes. She called a waiter and ordered. "We'll have your most diverse meal please." Ino said.

"Uhm. That's a bit…expensive." Sakura spoke at last. Ino looked at her and shook her head.

"No, it's fine. I don't know what to order you guys so I'll just give it a go." Ino said. She looked at Sasuke. "Hey, you haven't said anything since we arrived." She said. Sakura looked at Sasuke expectantly and he looked back at her.

"Hi." He said simply, making it awkward for anyone else to speak.

* * *

They stayed silent for a long time until the food arrived. It had ramen in it and that distracted Naruto from anything else that is happening inside the room. It also had a lot of different stuff and they started eating.

"Here." Ino said, handing out a plate to Sasuke filled with different kinds of foods that she picked out herself.

"Thanks." Sasuke said simply. Sakura stared at him, amused. _'So he knows how to say thank you.' _She thought. He started eating and Sakura noticed that he was ignoring the natto beans that Ino carefully placed on his plate. She frowned.

"Eat that." Sakura told him. Sasuke looked up at her and so did Ino.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about." Sakura said, she never tolerated waste of food and she would just love to see Sasuke's face while eating it. Sasuke looked at the beans on his plate.

"No." Sasuke said simply. Sakura's eyes twitched and in one quick motion, she flicked her chopsticks full of beans that have strung together and they flew straight into Sasuke's mouth as he was going to bite another one of his onigiri.

"I don't tolerate waste of food." Sakura said triumphantly, with a big smile on her face. "Look at your face! HAHAHAHAHA!" Sakura laughed loudly, embarrassing Sasuke to the extremes. Sasuke choked a bit, quite coolly than most choking people do.

"How dare you." Sasuke said as he successfully manage to swallow the food he hates the most.

He got a sushi and dipped it into a dish of wasabi and looked straight into Sakura's eyes. He smirked. Sakura's eyes widened.

"I was….kidding." Sakura said, slowly moving backwards, away from the table. Sasuke shook his head.

"You made me eat it." Sasuke said with a smirk. He grabbed Sakura's hand that was on the table and pulled her back, at the same time, shoving the wasabi-filled sushi inside her mouth.

Sakura's face reddened as the wasabi took its effect. Her eyes watered and she instantly had a runny nose. Sasuke, on the other hand, now had the triumphant look plastered on his face. Ino frowned at what she was seeing, it made her uncomfortable to see Sasuke so calm with another woman. Naruto just stared at them. Sakura grabbed the nearest water glass and drowned herself with it.

"You two are awfully close, aren't you?" Ino managed to say, unsure of what was happening but her heart was beating madly, as if telling her that something was wrong. Naruto's face twitched.

"_Awfully_ close indeed." Naruto repeated. In that instant, Naruto stood up and grabbed Sakura's hand, startling Sasuke and Ino.

"HEY! That hurts!" Sakura whined. Indeed, Naruto's trembling hand and tight grip was hurting her, but he wasn't listening. Sasuke stood up, staring straight into Naruto's eyes.

"Loosen your grip." Sasuke hissed, clearly affected by Sakura's expression and forgetting that he's now showing something he doesn't dare to show in front of Ino. Naruto ignored him and looked at Ino.

"I'm sorry Ino, we have to go. We'll see you next time." Naruto said, pulling Sakura with him outside the restaurant, leaving Ino and Sasuke alone.

It didn't turn out to be a great night after all. There was a lot of explaining to do on Sasuke and Sakura's part and they'll have to deal with it immediately.

* * *

**A/N: I don't know if this was a good chapter or something..but..yeah..I have nothing to say. haha. ^_^**

* * *

**x-Sasu-Saku-x - _Okay, your pen name is something else, it keeps vanishing once I save the document. LOL. I give up, I just did a dash instead of a 'dot'. __You're right, everyone's probably miserable in this story. LOL. And again, Sasuke's always a 'horrid bastard', is that it? Haha. That's why I don't know what I should do with him, I thought I'll make him a bit kind, but that's OOC. HAHA. ^_^_**

**jsunshine****_ - Yes, I'm working on it, their interactions I mean. :) It's quite hard because of Sasuke's cold personality and Sakura here is very controlled and not the usual Sakura that's head over heels in love with Sasuke. LOL. ^_^ We'll get there, eventually. :)_**

* * *

**Thank you for the reviews _Cutiedust _and _jsunshine_! Also, for adding this to your favorite stories! ^_^ Very grateful. :)**

**Chapter 5 is next. :) Please hit the review button. Thank you!**

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**January 11, 2011 [Tuesday;10:37 P.M.]**

**Philippines**


	5. Choice 5: A Day of Surprises

**A/N: I was really waiting until it's12:00 a.m. to post this, I should really be sleeping since I have morning class tomorrow, but whatever. Chapter 5. Sorry, I can't reply to your reviews, thanks thought for taking time to read..too sleepy. T_T**

**Disclaimer: I got nothing.**

* * *

**Choice # 5: A Day of Surprises

* * *

**

Christmas is in the air; Christmas decorations, mistletoes and Yuletide music can be seen and heard inside the office and it's not even December yet. Sakura was constantly sighing; her face in a frown and this was attracting a lot of attention.

"Sak, stop sighing, you're ruining the 'almost' Christmas mood." Shikamaru said while passing by. Sakura ignored him and continued with her work.

"If you want her to stop ruining the mood, bring her daughter here." Temari commented, joining in the conversation.

"Or just get rid of Naruto for her." Tenten said, Sakura shot her an annoyed look.

"Rude." Sakura managed to say. "I do not ruin the mood." She defended.

"Yes you do. It's been weeks, maybe even a month. It's still awkward between you guys?" Temari asked. Sakura sighed again.

She was annoyed. Naruto still hasn't let the restaurant incident go. Sakura knew that she was showing a lot of fondness, well, _happiness_, with Sasuke that day at the restaurant but she just couldn't help it. At that moment, Sasuke passed by.

"It's your fault." Sakura said, loud enough for Sasuke to hear. Sasuke stopped and looked at Sakura. The others sensed the tension then whistled innocently and walked away, leaving the two alone.

"Pardon?" Sasuke simply said. He could not believe that she was blaming him for what happened.

"You idiot." Sakura said as she couldn't think of any insult to say. Sasuke's brows twitched.

"Haruno, in my office." Sasuke said firmly. Sakura looked up, her eyebrow shot up too. Sasuke looked down at her. "Now." He said in his authoritative voice. Sakura sighed and followed.

* * *

Sakura closed the door behind her, watching Sasuke's every move. She was mad, but not at him. She was mad at herself but she couldn't take the blame even though she knew it was her fault. Oh yes, she was childish.

"Don't act as if you're the only one who's got problems." Sasuke said, sitting in one of the chairs that were inside the room. Sakura just stood there.

"Well, at least you easily dealt with your problems since she's madly in love with you." Sakura said, referring to Ino.

Sasuke and Ino also had a fight and Ino was pestering him on telling her what kind of relationship he had with Sakura. It didn't last long though because Ino couldn't bear fighting with Sasuke and came back to him herself even without him telling her the reason. Sakura, on the other hand, was stubborn and so was Naruto and that made it difficult for them to fix it up.

"You should be madly in love with him too, then, to fix it up." Sasuke said despite of himself. Sakura sighed and she sat down beside Sasuke, not minding the closeness since she's gotten used to it.

"That's just it, I'm not." She said without thinking. Sasuke stared at her and Sakura stared back, their eyes meeting each other. _'Oh no. I shouldn't have said that.' _Sakura thought for she knew what was coming. Sasuke didn't know why but he instantly inched closer to her and Sakura's heart started to race.

_'Chance.' _Sasuke thought as he pictured himself kissing Sakura. He leaned in until their lips were only inches away. "Good." He said, his breath touching her lips and he was glad that Sakura herself said that she's not _madly _in love with Naruto.

Sakura could've moved away, but surprisingly, she didn't. She sat there, motionless, just waiting. Her eyes began to slowly shut. Sasuke saw this and he smirked, he too, closed his eyes. He felt her luscious lips brush his own as Sakura took a deep breath, ready to receive Sasuke's deep kiss.

* * *

"MAMAAAAAAA!"

Sakura's eyes shot wide open as she heard the familiar voice bursting inside the room. Sakura practically shoved Sasuke's face away from hers as she thought of an excuse.

"And that's what you get if you fight with a karate master." Sakura managed to say, her hands still stretched out and on Sasuke's face while she was leaning backwards. Sakura looked around and saw a wide-eyed Ayaka, she gulped. _'No. She's too young understand what just happened.' _Sakura thought. "Oh, Aya-chan." She said.

"Mama…" Ayaka said, closing the door and slowly walking towards Sasuke and Sakura, her voice sounding different.

"Ayaka." Sasuke said, in his pleasant voice that he only uses around Ayaka. _'Damn, I thought third time's the charm.' _He thought, thinking about the missed kiss, again.

"Mama…you.." Ayaka said slowly. Sakura's mind and heart were pounding, she didn't know what her daughter saw and whatever it was, it was bad, really bad.

"Yes honey?" Sakura asked, failing to hide the nervousness in her tone.

"You.." Ayaka said again and then her eyes sparkled at Sasuke. "You didn't tell Aya-chan that Sasuke-kun was here!" Ayaka squealed in her usual voice, running towards Sasuke and hugging him tight. "Sa-su-ke-kuuuuun!" Ayaka squealed more, happy to see Sasuke again. Sakura was left staring at the door, dumbfounded.

Sakura let out a quiet and unsure laugh as she turned her head to watch Sasuke petting Ayaka's head. Their eyes met and Sakura quickly looked away.

_'I lost it again. Idiot.' _Sakura thought to herself. Sakura noticed that Ayaka was now on Sasuke's lap and playing with his hair. "Aya-chan, who's with you?" Sakura asked, now thinking of how the hell her daughter got there.

"Kaka-oji." Ayaka said cutely, not finishing the name of the person, but Sakura knew who it was.

Sakura stood up and went outside followed by Sasuke who was carrying Ayaka who was still playing with his hair.

* * *

There they saw Kakashi, standing and talking to the employees he knew.

"Are you sick or something? Take that mask off your face or I'll tear it off you." Temari said bluntly. Kakashi just laughed at her. He saw Sakura waving at him.

"Senpai!" Sakura greeted nicely, glad to see him once again. Kakashi smiled, well, at least his eyes did.

"Yo." Kakashi said. "That little girl over there wanted to drop by." Kakashi said pleasantly. He craned his neck to see Ayaka and was surprised when he saw Sasuke instead. "Whoa. Sasuke?" Kakashi blurted.

"Kakashi." Sasuke said, gently putting Ayaka down and nodding his head towards Kakashi. Kakashi's eyes were filled with interest at that moment.

"Long time." Kakashi said. _'Still doesn't respect elders.' _He thought. "It's great to see you." He said, looking from Sasuke to Sakura and giving Sakura a very knowing look, Sakura shook her head in denial. The other employees were just observing. They clearly noticed the resemblance between Sasuke and Ayaka and they were all suspecting something. Nobody dared to speak out though and there was an awkward silence.

"Eh, senpai." Sakura started. "Why is it you? I mean, where's Naruto?" Sakura asked. Sasuke flinched at the question.

"He doesn't want to. He said he was busy." Kakashi shrugged. Sakura's face became blank.

"I see." Sakura said. "Thanks for bringing her here." She added, now with the smile back on her face.

"No big. She said she wants to stay so she can go home with you." Kakashi said. Sakura nodded.

"That's okay, we only have an hour left anyway." Sakura said, patting Ayaka's head as she clung onto her legs.

"I'll be going then, I still have a Christmas party to attend, Kurenai planned it, can't miss it or she'll kill me." Kakashi said looking at his watch, "And I'm late. Bye." He said, turning back and waving.

"Oh. Tell her I said hi!" Sakura called out, she saw Kakashi nod and he was gone. She noticed that Ayaka was again, back with Sasuke.

* * *

"CHRISTMAS PARTY!" Choji screamed in his big, fat voice. Sasuke looked at him sharply and Sakura saw this.

"It could be fun." Sakura said in her _oh-come-on_ voice, trying to pacify Sasuke's sudden anger from the loud voice he just heard. He stared for moment; he shrugged and looked at his department's eager faces.

"Christmas Party. Next Friday. After work." Sasuke simply said.

The room was filled with screams and shouts of joy. Even though it's still the last week of November and Christmas was still 4 weeks away, it's rare to have a Christmas Party in the company. It only happens when someone wealthy enough is willing to treat everybody. Everyone started discussing the details.

"Costumes!" Shikamaru shouted and instantly, the noise died down.

"Yes! Costumes!" The other guys agreed, their minds floating on some stuff. The girls rolled their eyes.

"Shikamaru, fix everything before Friday." Sasuke said in his silent voice. Shikamaru nodded. "I'll let you all decide." He added. He didn't move from his spot because Ayaka was still clinging on his leg.

"Eh. Sakura, what's with Ayaka and Sasuke's resemblance?" Temari asked, moving closer to Sakura. Sakura frowned, of course they didn't know and she doesn't plan on telling them.

"Ayaka's quite fond of him too, which is weird." Tenten observed, she experienced Ayaka's cold attitude when she first met her. Sakura was completely ignoring them and so was Sasuke, he was slowly walking back to his office, Ayaka in tow.

"Is he her papa?" Shikamaru said aloud from across the room. Sakura's eyes widened, she glanced at Sasuke, he stopped but she saw that his facial expression did not change.

"Right! The resemblance in the face and personality." Choji said. "And the closeness." He added. Sakura was now wishing that the ground will eat her up.

"W-what? You guys are so imaginative." Sakura tried to shrug it away. Ayaka stopped on her tracks though. Sakura went to her daughter and crouched down to her.

"Honey, let Sasuke-san go, we don't want to bother him." Sakura said, but Ayaka wasn't listening. Her eyebrows and nose were scrunched, thinking deeply.

"Papa…" Ayaka said quietly. Sakura's eyes widened.

_'Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no.' _Sakura thought. "Ayaka." Sakura started. Ayaka clung onto Sasuke's leg again.

"Can I call you Papa?" Ayaka asked cutely. Sasuke stared at her. "Ayaka doesn't have a Papa." She added with a pout.

"Don't you have Naruto?" Sasuke told her truthfully. Sakura was nodding her head off at what Sasuke said but Ayaka pouted more and frowned.

"Na-chan is not Papa. Na-chan IS Na-chan." Ayaka said in her very little and stubborn voice. Sasuke glanced at Sakura and saw that she was staring at him.

_**'No. Please. No.' **_Sakura mouthed to Sasuke. He returned it with his infamous smirk, as usual.

"Are you sure, Ayaka? Naruto might feel bad." Sasuke said nicely to her. Again, Sakura was nodding her head off.

"Hn." Ayaka's '_Sasuke mode' _suddenly turned on. "He won't." She said in an unusually cold voice which surprised Sakura to extreme levels.

"Okay then." Sasuke agreed. Everyone was now surprised and whispers filled the place.

"Really?" Ayaka asked, her eyes sparkling. Sasuke nodded. "WEEEEEE!" Ayaka screamed happily as she skipped away from Sasuke and into the pantry to look for food. She was pretty familiar to the place and it wasn't that big.

_'Wow. I never thought that they were this close. And since when was she able to do that 'hn' thing?' _Sakura thought. She saw Sasuke enter his office and just stared. She looked around and saw that all of them were staring back at her.

"What?" Sakura said, trying her best to talk in her usual tone. She shot a death glare at Shikamaru. "It's your fault, again." She said and rolled her eyes at him. "Watch her for a while, will you?" She added, talking to Temari. Temari nodded.

* * *

Sakura entered Sasuke's office. She noticed that he was back in his office chair and was talking to somebody over the phone. It sounded like he was making a business deal with another company for the marketing of Yamanaka Fashion. Sakura waited until he was finished.

"What?" Sasuke said after he was done, not bothering to look up at her. Sakura gaped.

"What 'what'? Can you explain why you agreed to be called Papa by her?" Sakura asked. Sasuke shrugged, still not looking up.

"Because she wanted to." Sasuke replied simply. _'And I am her father after all.' _He thought. It was true. Sakura shooked her head in disbelief.

"Still, you know she has Naruto." Sakura said in her obvious tone. Sasuke now looked at her, the smirk once again plastered on his face.

"But is he enough?" Sasuke said. "If there's nothing else, you can go now." He added as he looked back at what he was doing, not wanting to prolong the conversation anymore. Sakura stayed there though.

"Is he not enough?" Sakura retorted. Sasuke looked up at her again and with a bored expression on his face.

"You heard her, didn't you?" Sasuke said. "He's 'Na-chan' to her." He added. Again, it was true. Sakura didn't know what to say, so she stayed quiet. "Enough said." Sasuke said.

"Why are you doing this?" Sakura asked, completely confused at what was happening. "From the very first day I saw you, you keep bothering me. You keep on showing your other side, soft side, to me. You keep on…" She paused, Sasuke waited. "You keep on distorting my life." Sakura said, losing it.

Sasuke stood up and walked towards her. This time, she did not step back for if she did, she'll just be cornered between the wall and him, AGAIN. Instead, she waited for him and once he was in front of her, she looked up, straight to his eyes.

_'What..is this?' _Sakura thought. She saw something different in his eyes, it was filled with want and somewhat, regret. Sakura instantly felt bad. "W-what?" She stammered.

"I'm sure you know very well the answer to your question." Sasuke said quietly; too quietly that Sakura flinched.

Sasuke took another step forward, but this time, Sakura acted upon it. She backed away, holding her right arm in front of her to stop Sasuke from advancing forward. He stopped, her hand on his chest.

_'I know. Of course I know, but I can't.' _She thought, staring right into his eyes. "No." She finally said. "You have a wife."

"I consider you the first." Sasuke said, not breaking eye contact. Sakura blushed, she cleared her throat and looked down.

"I-I don't care." Her voice cracked. "I have a husband." She added.

"Hn." He simply said, uncaring. Sakura shook her head.

"You can't make me." She tried again, convincing him _and _herself that she will not fall in love with the guy again, but not realizing that she already did. Sasuke smirked at what she said.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke." He said simply. "Watch me." He added, his voice full of confidence in himself.

It turned awfully quiet for a while. None of them were talking and Sakura could feel Sasuke's heartbeat thumping on her hand. She looked away from him. She missed him, of course she did. He was the first guy she ever loved that way, but she doesn't want to hurt the other guy who stood with her when Sasuke left her alone. She didn't want to hurt Naruto.

_'He doesn't want to hurt Ino either.' _Sakura remembered. She stared back at him again. "You don't want to hurt her." Sakura said, referring to Ino.

Sasuke stared blankly at her. He heard those words before, a long time ago, those exact words that made him stand where he was now.

'_**You don't want to hurt her'**_

It echoed inside his head as he remembered who said it. _'Itachi.' _He thought as the reason why he was there came back to him. Sakura noticed that Sasuke was in a daze, she snapped her fingers to bring him back, but still, nothing.

"Sasuke?" Sakura started, he did not respond. "Sasuke?" She tried again, now a bit worried.

Sakura was puzzled. _'Was it something I said?' _She thought. She tried shaking his shoulders and other stuff but it wouldn't work.

"Sasuke!" Sakura placed her hands on his face and this brought him back to life, well, figuratively of course.

"What?" Sasuke asked, surprised.

His face was so close to hers that it surprised him. He was staring directly in her green orbs. Sakura let him go, after seeing that his eyes became focused once more. She stepped away.

"You were on Mars." Sakura commented. Sasuke stared at her, confused. "I mean, you were in a daze." She added. Sasuke walked back to his chair and sat down.

"That's right. I don't want to hurt her." Sasuke muttered under his breath. _'This is damn annoying!' _He thought. Sakura just stared at him.

_'You give her importance too.' _Sakura thought as a sharp stab of pain passed her heart. "I'll be going now, Ayaka is waiting." She said, walking away.

Sasuke did not stop her. He just sat there quietly, thinking. He heard the door close and heard Ayaka's voice telling her mother that she ate something in the pantry. Sasuke placed his head on his palm, looking like he was fighting a headache.

"Don't hurt Ino.." He said quietly. "Don't hurt Ino if you don't want to hurt Sakura." He said to himself, reminding himself of what he was doing.

* * *

Sakura went out of the office and was greeted by Ayaka's rant about ramen and onigiri in the pantry. She sighed, even the foods are reminding her of Naruto and Sasuke. It was eventually time to go and the two went ahead, saying goodbye to the others. Sakura made sure that Ayaka wore her clothing as comfortable as possible since it was freezing outside.

"Mama." Ayaka started. Sakura looked at her. "I like Papa Sasuke-kun." She added.

"Yes, I know that." Sakura replied simply, wincing as she heard the word 'Papa'. She felt Ayaka's grip tighten in her hand.

"But I like Na-chan too." Ayaka said, her nose and eyebrows scrunched. "It's hard to choose." She said innocently, thinking about it. Sakura sighed.

"You don't know how much difficult it really is." Sakura muttered and they silently walked home, hand in hand.

If a 6 year old girl was finding it difficult to choose, what more to a 25 year old woman who happen to be confused on who she loves more; the past or the present.

* * *

**A/N: I still got nothing. Good night. X_X ... V_V**

**January 19, 2011 [Wednesday; 12:07 a.m.]**

**Philippines**


	6. Choice 6: The Kissmas Party

**A/N: I'm SERIOUSLY spoiling you guys. I have nothing to do and I'm bored, so here's chapter 6 everyone. ^_^ I'm sorry for not replying to the earlier reviews. I'll do so later..below. Haha. So, yeah, I'll stop ranting and go on..read. ^_^**

**Disclaimer: *copy and paste first disclaimer here***

* * *

**Choice # 6: The _kiss_mas Party**

* * *

"No."

It was a Saturday night and Sakura was trying to convince Naruto to let her attend the Christmas party on that coming Friday. Naruto, of course, doesn't want her to. They have been at it for almost 2 hours already.

"Come on. It's a company party." Sakura said truthfully. It was indeed a company party since Sasuke is still her boss and everyone else was going to be there.

"No. And you're going in that?" Naruto said, pointing at a dress that was on their bed.

It was a Santa dress for women that probably reached just above her knees and Naruto is extremely bothered by it. Sakura also stared at it and her sweat dropped. It was not her fault that she was going to wear a Santa dress.

"They were customized and every employee was given one." Sakura explained. _'Temari, I'll kill you for this.' _She thought as she cursed Shikamaru inside her head.

"And you just happen to have that Santa dress, did you?" Naruto replied, as if accusing her of something. Sakura's eyes widened.

"Hey, it's not like I picked that outfit for myself! I'd go as a Christmas tree for all I care." She said. "They assigned it to us." She added.

They still haven't sort out the dinner incident and there they were, having another argument about the Christmas party. _'God, my life has turned miserable.' _Sakura thought.

"Still, no. I can't take it if Sasuke sees you in that." Naruto said truthfully. He wasn't going to let that happen. "He's evil, you know." He said. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Please?" Sakura tried once more. Naruto shook his head, Sakura sighed. She went forward towards him and placed her hands on his neck as she couldn't think of anything else to do. Naruto stiffened. "Please?" She whispered in his ear, "I promise I'll wear that again for you to see." She added seductively, which is so not like her.

"Uhm.." Naruto said, his face flushed as he felt her hot breath on his ear. "P-promise?" He stuttered. Sakura whispered yes. "O-okay." He finally said. Sakura smirked as she knew that she succeeded.

"Gotcha." She said, pulling away, her seductive trap never fails her. "You said okay." Sakura laughed.

"What?" Naruto said and he realized what just happened. Sakura was now running away from him. "Haruno Sakura, get back here!" Naruto said as he heard Sakura laughing really hard.

Ayaka's door opened and her head popped out. She was rubbing her eyes to see what was happening and she saw her mom and Naruto chasing each other.

"Mama, I can't sleep." Ayaka said, complaining about the loud laughs and the noise. Sakura controlled herself and went to Ayaka.

"Sorry honey. Let me tuck you in." Sakura said, ushering Ayaka inside but looking back at Naruto and sticking her tongue out at him. Naruto sighed but smiled.

_'Defeated again.' _He thought. And just like that, they were all right again. He was hoping that it will last a long time.

* * *

"No."

Sasuke was staring at Sakura like she was the craziest person he had ever seen. Sakura was holding up three costumes for Sasuke to see and pick from. She was trying hard not to laugh and was suppressing her laugh so much that she was turning red. When Sasuke refused, Sakura burst out laughing.

"But it looks cute." Sakura blurted out. Sasuke gave her a glare and if looks could kill, she'd probably be dead. "Try it out." She added.

There was a candy cane costume, an elf costume and a snowman costume. Sasuke just stared at it and was hoping that it will burn to the ground. Sakura, though, was having fun. She walked towards him and started tugging on his shirt.

"Try it." She tried again, convincing Sasuke to take off the damn shirt for her to see what he looks like in the costume.

"No." He said once again, tugging his shirt back. _'Why did it turn out to be a costume party?' _He thought. "You're insane. Get out." Sasuke said harshly. The costumes were getting on his nerves. Sakura laughed, still trying to rip his shirt off.

"Just throw these over, come on." She persisted, trying to pull his shirt off. Sasuke found the situation very interesting. He smirked.

"If you want to see me naked, just ask. I'd gladly do so." Sasuke said, standing up, grabbing his shirt and started pulling it up and off of him. Sakura blushed and frowned at the same time, she was now in front of a half-naked Sasuke and she stared, a LOT. "Speechless." Sasuke said, now starting to put his shirt back, but Sakura was not a quitter.

"No you don't." She said as she grabbed the candy cane costume and tried to put it on him.

They ended up falling on the floor with Sakura trying to put the costume on him and Sasuke struggling out of her grasp. They were in a very awkward position but, apparently, both of them hadn't notice.

"Get off me. I'll sue you for harassing your boss." Sasuke said in a very serious tone. Sakura stopped, stood up and gave him a funny look.

"You couldn't think of a better threat?" Sakura said, laughing at the weakness of Sasuke's previous threat. He glared at her. "Okay, okay. I'll leave you with these then." Sakura said, putting the costumes down at the office couch and laughing as she walked outside. Sasuke grunted, putting his shirt back on.

* * *

After a good 15 minutes, Ino entered the room, frowning because she just saw Sakura exit with a huge smile on her face. Ino approached Sasuke, looking at the costumes on the couch.

"What's with these?" Ino asked, intrigued by the costumes. "Very unfashionable." She added. "You're department's having a Christmas party?" She asked.

"Yes." Sasuke grunted, not wanting to look at the costumes anymore.

"When? And you're wearing these?" Ino said, holding it up. "No way." She said in disbelief.

"Friday." He said. "No, I'm not wearing that." He added. He looked up at her. "Why are you here?" He asked in the nicest way possible, but he failed. Ino was still staring disgustingly at the clothes.

"Oh." She said, turning her attention back to him. "I'm going somewhere." She added, quite sadly. Sasuke waited.

"So?" He asked, not quite getting it. She was always going somewhere and they don't actually have that much time together since she's the president's daughter and was always required to be where the president wants her to be. Sasuke was used to that.

"I'm not going to be here for about a week or two." Ino said. "But I'll be here on Christmas." She added. Sasuke frowned, not actually caring.

"Ah." He replied. Ino was instantly disappointed from the lack of response.

"Aren't you bothered by it?" Ino asked, in her mind, she wanted to strangle him to death. Sasuke shrugged.

"Will something good come out of it if I was?" He replied in an obvious manner. He thought of something. "Can I not stay in the house when you leave?" He asked.

He didn't want to stay in the big, quiet house by himself because surely, if the Yamanaka's are going away for more than a day, they'll bring everybody in the house along to serve them. Ino sighed, she was sad.

"Okay." She just said, not wanting to have an argument since she's the only one who suffers from it.

"See you on Christmas then." He said, looking at Ino with those bored eyes. Ino stared back and walked over to him.

"I love you." She said, leaning in forward to kiss him.

* * *

"Tanaka Reo-san of Japanese Vogue wants to conduct a meeting on Wednesday, Sasu—" Sakura was at the door and she stopped when she saw what was in front of her.

Ino was kissing Sasuke in a very heated manner that Sakura's face flushed as she saw it. She fought back the urge to explode Ino off of Sasuke as she just stood there. She snapped back to reality and bowed.

"I'm sorry. I'll be back later, Uchiha-san." Sakura said in a low voice as she exited the room.

Sasuke was surprised as Ino initiated the kiss, he was wide-eyed and he felt a great deal of aggressiveness in Ino's actions. He heard Sakura apologizing and when the door closed, he instantly pushed Ino away.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked, his voice sounding the same but there was a bit more force in it. Ino bit her lip, she was not acting like herself. She's had grace and poise at all times.

"I was trying to take it up a notch." She said, embarrassed of what she did but at the same time, glad that she tried. "Our relationship." She added.

"And you have to do it now?" Sasuke said coldly. _'And Sakura saw it too.' _He thought. He heard her sobbing quietly.

"It's been 4 months and you still don't love me enough!" Ino whined. "When are you going to forget that first girl you loved?" Ino continued; Sasuke frowned at this.

_'Never.' _He thought. He turned his chair around and continued working. "Your father is waiting for you." He said, subtly hinting that she should leave.

There was a long pause and finally, Ino stopped sobbing and was wiping tears off of her face. Sasuke knew he was being harsh and he knew that nothing good will come out of it, but he couldn't help himself.

"We shouldn't have gone back home." Ino said as she walked away and left the room.

* * *

Sakura was inside the bathroom, she was sitting on the toilet seat and was trembling. No, she was NOT defecating, she was trembling from shock. Images of Sasuke and Ino's make out session were entering her mind.

"Get a hold of yourself. That's his wife, of course they'll be doing that." She muttered to herself.

Suddenly, a lump formed in her throat and she was crying. She frowned, her brain and eyes does not seem to be working properly.

_'I shouldn't be crying.' _She thought, but her eyes won't cooperate.

She stayed in the bathroom for a long time and after she finished crying, she fixed herself up and went out. The others were staring at her and the others were joking.

"Took you long enough. What are you releasing there, a bomb?" Shikamaru laughed. Sakura tried to laugh along as sincere as possible.

"Sak, Tanaka-san is waiting for Uchiha-san's reply for this Wednesday's meeting." Temari said upon reading the request on Sakura's computer. Sakura sighed.

"Yes. I'm on it." She said. It was impossible to avoid Sasuke. _'Don't mix personal matters with your job .' _She thought.

* * *

She stood in front of the door and knocked, which she hasn't done before, just in case. She heard him say 'come in' and so she did. Ino wasn't around anymore and Sasuke was working on something. He looked up and was surprised to see Sakura because she _never_ knocks, she just barges in.

"Sakura." He called out, acknowledging her presence. Sakura bowed in respect, which was definitely unusual.

"Tanaka Reo-san is waiting for your reply regarding the Wednesday meeting.." Sakura said. "Uchiha-san." She finished, emphasizing the use of his last name. Sasuke winced.

"Tell him that it's fine." Sasuke said as he stood up. Sakura noticed this and she quickly tried to escape from the situation.

"Right away sir." She said as she turned around to exit the room.

"Stop." Sasuke said in the voice that made Sakura follow him no matter what. Sakura just stood there, her back facing him. "About earlier.." Sasuke started.

"I'm sorry for interrupting sir. I won't do it again." Sakura replied, not allowing Sasuke to finish his sentence. There was a pause.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke said in a low voice. There was another lump in Sakura's throat and she struggled to talk.

"I believe the thing that happened earlier was none of my concern sir." She reasoned out. "If there's nothing else, I'll be going now." She said, opening the door and leaving Sasuke behind.

Sasuke shook his head in disappointment. He could read into Sakura's actions easily and he knew that she was shocked and possibly, jealous. He sat back in his chair but surprisingly, her actions actually brought a small smile to his face.

* * *

Friday came really quickly. Everyone was excited for the Christmas party and no one was in the mood to work. It was almost the time for the party and everyone was ready to go to the venue. Sakura was looking at her costume and was sighing constantly. She could not believe that she was actually going to wear the thing.

"You'll look cute in it!" Temari said happily. She was dressing up as a cute little santa elf.

"I'm a tree." Tenten said, annoyed at the one who picked her costume.

"I'm Frosty the Snowman." Choji said with a laugh. He was already wearing his costume and was rubbing his big, snowy belly. Sakura laughed.

"Shikamaru thought of all this, but look at him, he's doesn't even have one." Sakura pointed at him. Shikamaru thought it was bothersome to put a costume on.

* * *

They all went to the venue that was surprisingly the whole third floor of a hotel. It was really fancy and Shikamaru did a great job on picking the right things. There were foods, lights, drinks and even a karaoke machine. No one was actually thinking that they'll make it home, so rooms were reserved just in case.

"Who paid for this?" Sakura whispered to Shikamaru.

"Sasuke. He's not as petty as he looks." Shikamaru joked.

True enough. Sakura never thought that Sasuke was this established in life, maybe he was a bachelor after all. Sakura shrugged it away and everyone changed into their costumes. They were all having fun when Sasuke arrived, not wearing a costume at all, just his usual cool attire.

"Avoid. Avoid." Sakura muttered under her breath like crazy as she walked away trying to avoid Sasuke for as long as possible.

She mostly spent her time in the bar while the others were happily singing their favorite songs in the karaoke machine. It was not long after that she found it really noisy inside the room. She went out and entered one of the reserved rooms for them. She was holding a bottle of wine and a glass in her hand as she sat down on the bed. She felt someone move, it was dark so she couldn't see. She opened the desk light and saw none other than Sasuke.

"Cliché." Sakura said. Of course it was their alone time. Sasuke let out a silent laugh, _'He's probably drunk.' _Sakura thought, hearing his laugh.

"What's cliché?" He asked. He was also holding a glass of fine wine in his hand and he sat down next to Sakura.

"This situation. It's a total cliché." Sakura commented. She kind of expected this already.

"I see. Why are you here?" Sasuke asked as he stared at her and her costume.

Her costume really suits her; it reached just above her knees and showed just the right amount of legs. It was a perfect fit that showed her curves and of course, her breast. Sasuke smirked, getting a lot of ideas in his mind.

"It was too noisy there." Sakura said, taking a sip from her glass of wine. "I'm pretty sure that's why you're here too." She added. Sasuke nodded.

"I'm surprised that Naruto agreed to let you come here." Sasuke said, continuing the conversation. "In that." He muttered.

"It wasn't easy." Sakura said, leaving no room for an answer. Sasuke continued though.

"Was Ayaka alright with it?" He asked. "Why did you name her Ayaka in the first place?" He added. Sakura looked at him in a very weird way.

"You're talking too much. If you were a fanfiction, you'll be totally OOC." Sakura commented again. Sasuke shrugged.

"Aren't you too old for fanfictions?" Sasuke replied, resting his back on the bed's backrest.

"Yes. It's none of your business." Sakura said, filling her glass for another drink. "Ayaka means colorful flower. She was born in spring, decipher it from that." She told him, replying to his question.

They were both a little tipsy already, that was why they can carry out a continuous conversation without fighting and it was because their topic was their daughter, until it turned to their past. They were now both resting their back on the bed's backrest and were comfortable seating next to each other.

"Good thing we made her then if she makes you that happy." Sasuke blurted out, he talks a lot when he drinks. Sakura blushed.

"What's so good about it?" She said, trying to remember what happened that fateful night.

* * *

_Flashbac-_

* * *

"Ugh! I don't even want to have a flashback about it." Sakura said, interrupting her thoughts even before they were formed.

"I, for one, want a flashback about it." Sasuke smirked as he remembered the joy that night.

* * *

_-Flashback-_

_Sasuke was looking straight into Sakura's green orbs. She was there, inside his room and he didn't know why they ended up there. Sakura smiled the most charming smile he had ever seen. He couldn't control himself. He covered her lips with his, enjoying her warmth pressed against him. She instinctively wrapped her hands around his neck for support as she felt her legs wobble at his kiss. Sasuke's hands found its way on her waist._

_ "Sakura, I want you. Now." He said aggressively._

_Sasuke's hands began roaming through her body with Sakura constantly stiffening at his touch. It was all new to her and she was scared. Sasuke kept on doing what he was doing and Sakura was just letting him. She didn't want to have sex until she's married, but Sasuke was just too damn irresistible that it made her suddenly change her mind. When she felt herself being exposed, she stopped him._

_ "Sasuke. I'm not sure I.." She started, but his lips once again found hers and that did it._

_They…._

* * *

"STOP! Stop thinking about that thing!" Sakura screamed as she covered her ears, as if someone in there was noisy. She's gone nuts.

"I wasn't even talking, why are you covering your ears?" Sasuke said, a small smile appearing on his face. Sakura glared at him.

"Because! It's like I'm hearing your narrative voice or something." Sakura reasoned out. Sasuke shook his head in disbelief.

There was a long pause and an awkward silence. All they could hear was the sound coming from the songs and screams coming from the karaoke room. Their shoulders touched.

"Do you regret it?" Sasuke asked suddenly that caught Sakura off guard. Sasuke looked straight at her. "Do you regret what we did?" He asked again. Sakura just stared.

"Do you?" She asked back. There was a sudden glint in Sasuke's eyes and Sakura knew that she should get out of the room, fast. "I…gotta go." She said, but Sasuke got a hold of her hand.

"Oh, no you don't." Sasuke said.

In one quick motion, her lips were covered with his and he was devouring her. Sakura's eyes widened as she felt Sasuke's lips against hers. Sasuke's hands instinctively went to her waist and pulled her closer, feeling her warmth running through his body. Sakura was still in a daze, but after a few bites and licks, she responded, making Sasuke smirk in between the kiss. They broke off, both panting from the sudden make out session, foreheads and noses touching.

"W-what?" Sakura muttered, her face flushed. Sasuke smirked.

"You escaped from me thrice already." He said simply.

Once again, Sasuke leaned in for another kiss, a more passionate one and Sakura just went with the flow, not bothering to push him away. She missed it, she missed him and she couldn't deny that this man in front of her was the only man she really loved.

* * *

**A/N: So, how was it? I thought this would be funny and it was fun to write too. Haha. :D Please review! ^_^ I'd like to know what you think! :D**

* * *

_**LEGNA **_**- I laughed at how fierce your review is. haha. You seriously hate Ino, don't you? Haha. Thanks for the review. ^_^**

_**TheCinnamorollBoo **_**- Yay! You pressed the button! Thanks for reviewing and adding this to your favorite stories! ^_^ Uchiha-fied..haha. that's true, I guess she did. ^_^**

**To _pinkypinkypinky, cutiedust, Milkshakes, x-SasuSaku-x, _and all the other dearies out there that added this and me to their favorites, thank you! ^_^**

* * *

**January 22, 2010 [Saturday; 10:20 AM]**

**Philippines**


	7. Choice 7: Unexpected

**A/N: I'm bored..I don't want to study..I have ideas..Ugh..LOL, I'm getting ready for school. I don't want to leave. haha. Here we go..chapter 7 everybody.**

**Disclaimer: ...**

* * *

**Choice # 7: Unexpected**

* * *

Sasuke lay her down on the bed, still not breaking the kiss. Sakura moaned at his kiss as his hands traveled up and down on her body. Their lips moved on their own, probably missed each other after the long years of being apart. Her body, too, seemed to recognize the hands' owner since it was responding on its own with Sasuke's every touch. He broke off the kiss, his head spinning from alcohol. Sakura, however, still can control herself and will not let herself get carried away like before, even though she admitted that it was good, _really good._

_'What are you doing? Push him away!' _She thought and as Sasuke broke the kiss, she stopped his hands. Sasuke grunted.

"Let go." He said, not struggling and wanting Sakura to let him go herself. Sakura shook her head.

"No. I can't." Sakura replied in a hush voice as she struggled to breathe. Sasuke grunted still, looking at her in disbelief.

"Don't do this now." He said, his voice faltering a bit as he calmed himself down.

"No. You won't have your way with me agai—" Her sentence got cut off as Sasuke kissed her neck. She took a gush of his scent and her eyes became dilated for a moment or two.

_'Sexy.' _Sasuke thought to himself as he stared at Sakura's skin.

"AH!" Sakura screamed as she felt Sasuke bite her collar bone. She winced in pain and pulled back. "I told you to stop!" She said, standing up, away from Sasuke. He was smirking.

"You missed me." Sasuke said triumphantly. Sakura frowned, holding the nearest chair she could find to support herself while standing up.

"I did not." She lied. She knew she was lying because everything about her definitely missed him and it seems that Sasuke knew about this. Sakura's eyes widened as she saw him lift up his right hand, showing her his fingers. She blushed.

"Hn." He smirked. "You're all wet." He added. Oh, he was pissing her off.

_'How did he even get there? I didn't even feel it!' _She thought, pulling down her dress a bit more, suddenly self-conscious. "You're a jerk Sasuke." She said heading out towards the door. She stopped, when she heard Sasuke sigh. It was really unusual for him to do that, she looked back. "What?" She asked fiercely.

"Stay. I won't do anything. Just, stay." Sasuke said in a tone that Sakura did not recognize at all. She never heard that tone from him, that somewhat _pleading _voice. Her gaze softened and she couldn't help herself, she sat back awkwardly on the bed.

"W-what are y-you doing? You told me—" She tried but Sasuke threw his shirt at her, making her blush upon seeing him half-naked.

"Hn." He grunted. "Cover yourself. I'm _burning_ to eat you right now and that dress is not helping." He added as he lay down and covered himself up with the blanket. Sakura sighed.

"Thanks." She said. It was easy for her to calm down beside Sasuke. Surprisingly, she trusts her enough to fall asleep beside him.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was not as comfortable as she is. He had every urge to attack her right there but tried to resist as he knew that she would be really angry. It was not wise for him to drink so much because he loses control over himself, especially when Sakura is around.

* * *

It was Saturday morning and Sakura woke up, her head pounding from so much alcohol intake the night before. She shifted position and was surprised to feel something cold next to her. It was Sasuke, she felt his back touch her shoulders and it was cold.

"Oh God." She said a bit loudly, scrambling out of the bed and getting out of Sasuke's shirt that was bundled around her. Sasuke grunted from all the noise.

"Shut up, please." He said in a very defeated way. His head was pounding too and was probably about to explode as he heard Sakura's outburst. He sat up, the blanket falling off of his body. Sakura blushed and stared, wondering when he got so _hot._

"Here." She said, wrapping him in his polo shirt. "And put that blanket back on you, you're freezing." Sakura lectured, bundling him up. Sasuke sniffed.

_'The air-conditioning must be too high.' _He thought as he sniffed again, well, he wasn't feeling that well since yesterday already, that must be it. God, he hates colds and he rarely have one. Sakura got her things and fixed herself up in the mirror, covering herself with her coat. Sasuke just stared at her.

"I'll be going now." Sakura said, getting up to leave. There was an unusual silence coming from Sasuke that made her look back. Sasuke was back in bed, coughing and sniffing. "Oh come on, this is so a teenager's thing." She said, commenting on their current situation.

"Hn." Sasuke replied. Sakura sighed and walked back to him. Sasuke frowned. "I did not ask for your help." He said. Sakura snorted.

"Obviously, you can't get up. I'll accompany you home." Sakura said. "Oh, but I'll change first." She added, noticing the look that Sasuke was giving her and her dress. She quickly changed inside the bathroom and helped Sasuke up.

"My car. You can't drive." He said. Sakura gave him a disbelieving look.

"I can, so shush it." She said, wanting the words to come out harsh, but failing to do so. Sasuke just allowed her to do whatever she wanted to do. She drove the car, going to the direction of Ino's house/mansion, but Sasuke stopped her.

"My other home." He said. Sakura was confused, so she told him to tell her the way.

* * *

It was not long after that when they reached Sasuke's flat. It was a condominium and was cosy and simple, very unlike his personality. Sakura helped him to bed and let him stay there. She left him inside the room and the first thing she did was to call Naruto, which turned out to be a very bad decision.

"Come back home right now." Naruto said, he couldn't believe that Sakura was at Sasuke's flat. Sakura sighed.

"I'm not doing anything bad Naruto." Sakura said. _'Last night though..was really bad.'_ She thought. Then, she heard Ayaka's voice.

"Mama! Can I go there?" Ayaka asked nicely.

"Wait dear, I'll ask him." Sakura said. She entered his room and found him sleeping on the bed. _'Maybe it will do him good. He'll feel better once he sees her.' _She thought. "Okay Aya-chan, you can, just don't be too noisy and no squealing." Sakura said.

Naruto took this chance to keep an eye on Sakura. He, of course, went with Ayaka to see Sasuke. Sakura gave them the right directions and they arrived a good 20 minutes later. Sakura was preparing food inside Sasuke's kitchen. Naruto approached her while Ayaka just stayed quiet on the couch, observing the place.

"I told you he's up to something evil, why else would he keep you here?" Naruto hissed.

"Since when is a cold evil, Naruto? You're being ridiculous." Sakura said, she craned her neck to look at Ayaka but she suddenly felt a sharp pain. She winced. _'Crap, his bite.' _She thought.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked, concerned. Sakura kept her cool.

"Yes. Just..stiff neck." She said, Naruto looked closer and saw something red.

"You seem to have a bruise or something." He said, reaching out to touch her neck. Sakura turned away, getting the soup that she prepared and putting it onto a bowl.

"It's from the costume, it was too tight." She reasoned and walked away, not wanting to be interrogated further. Naruto had a gut feeling that the bruised wasn't from the costume though.

Sakura saw Ayaka standing outside Sasuke's door, peeking. She smiled, her daughter must've been really attached to Sasuke; she had no idea how that happened at all. She tapped her shoulder and motioned her to go inside. Sasuke heard the door open and took a peek; he smiled when he saw Ayaka. Sakura placed the tray with soup, bread and medicine down the side table.

"Papa?" Ayaka tried to call him. Sasuke knew it was awkward for her to do so.

"Hi Ayaka." He said, giving her the warmest smile he can do. Ayaka's face brightened and she climbed up the bed and sat next to him.

_'If only we weren't thinking of other people, we could be a happy family.' _Sakura thought as she stared at the amazing sight in front of her. She shrugged it off, it was too late to think of that now.

* * *

Sakura left them alone and walked outside and was surprised to see Naruto standing just outside the door. She looked at him, confused.

"Is there something wrong?" Sakura asked, sitting down on the couch and looking at the place. There were no picture frames or anything, just plain things.

"Did I just hear her calling him Papa?" Naruto asked through gritted teeth. He tolerated it when she called him by his name, but now it was too much to take.

"Yes." Sakura answered truthfully. "That's what she wanted." She added.

"And you let her? You let her call him that even though you know I'm here?" Naruto said, quite pissed off. Sakura just sighed.

"I tried. Sasuke tried too, twice, telling her that she has you, but she told him that you're 'Na-chan'. What can we do?" Sakura answered him. Naruto stared at her and just observed. He noticed that she looked like she was telling the truth and that she also looked exhausted.

"I see." He said quietly. "Okay then, I'll let it go. You're probably getting tired of me for always losing it at you." He said.

"Yes. Really tired." She said honestly. Naruto nodded.

"I'm sorry." He said, leaning in to kiss her. Sakura stared at his lips and remembered what happened to her last night and all the other things that she had been thinking, she dodged Naruto's kiss.

"I.." She started. "I'm going to sleep first." Sakura said, leaning sideways and laying on the couch. _'I can't kiss you after what happened last night. I can't kiss you from now on. I'm sorry Naruto.' _She thought. Naruto sighed and just sat there, his fingers tracing circles on Sakura's legs.

* * *

Sasuke was trying to keep up with Ayaka's talking. He was not feeling well and was a little bit dizzy but he didn't want to disappoint his daughter so he fought it. Ayaka frowned, sensing Sasuke's discomfort.

"Is Papa okay?" Ayaka asked. Sasuke shook his head. "I knew it. Aliens are inside your body." Ayaka commented.

"Aliens?" Sasuke laughed for a bit. Ayaka nodded, her face turning serious, as if the topic was a life and death situation.

"Yes. Mama said that I shouldn't get aliens inside me or else I will be really, really sick." Ayaka told him. Sasuke was amused.

"When did she tell you that?" Sasuke asked. Ayaka thought hard.

"When I was little. Before she leaves me at Hina oba-chan's house, she's telling me to eat a lot and avoid aliens." Ayaka said, retelling her story with all the actions necessary. Sasuke became interested.

"Where does Mama go off to Ayaka?" He asked.

"Hina oba-chan said that Mama was leaving for Ayaka's sake." She answered, cuddling closer to Sasuke. "She told Ayaka that Mama was trying really hard." She said, remembering Hinata's words very clearly. Sasuke was intrigued, he wanted to know about how Sakura coped up with her life after he left.

"Did Mama do well?" Sasuke asked. Ayaka nodded as she clapped her hands once.

"Yes. Mama was strong. She comes home very late then reads me stories then we sleep and then she gives me food then leave again." Ayaka said, her eyes full of pride. "Ayaka loves Mama very much." She added.

_'She did a great job.' _Sasuke thought with mixed emotions. He felt bad because he wasn't there to help her but felt proud because she made it this far. "What about Ayaka's Papa?" He asked. Ayaka thought again.

"Papa is you, Sasuke-kun." She replied with a smile, but it was completely washed out after a while. "Ayaka never saw her real papa. Mama said he left." She said in a low voice. He flinched. He reached out to her and patted her head.

"Ayaka's real papa really loves her a lot." Sasuke said, hoping that the message got through. He was surprised at how Ayaka answered.

"Ayaka knows that." She smiled. "Mama always says that Papa loves me, so Ayaka knows he really does." Ayaka said with a big smile. Sasuke was surprised at how the little girl takes it all and also for the fact that Sakura did not make her hate him so much. She wasn't hurt or something to that extent, instead, she had an open heart.

_'That is what she got from her.' _He thought. If it was him, he'll probably have corrupted his child's mind already. _'Thank goodness Sakura raised her.' _He thought, imagining the probable results if he raised Ayaka.

"You are a very nice little girl, Ayaka." Sasuke said, petting her head. Ayaka smiled sheepishly.

"Papa said that before as steak-san." Ayaka laughed. Sasuke nodded, the girl really got the cleverness from him was what he was thinking.

* * *

All it took for Sasuke was a one day leave from the office and he was back to his normal, snobbish self. Sakura was busily fixing his schedule when she heard a commotion at the door.

"What's up?" She asked Temari. Temari shrugged.

"Probably another Uchiha. This was the same reaction when Sasuke first arrived." Temari replied, walking off, cursing a lot of papers to be sorted out. Sakura was deep in thought.

_'Another Uchiha? Who can that be?' _Sakura thought. Suddenly, she felt that a gaze was upon her, so she looked up from her office table and saw piercing dark gray eyes, very similar to Sasuke's. She shuddered as she got up and bowed.

"Uchiha-san." Sakura muttered politely with a bow. _'Itachi.' _She thought. She was pretty familiar with the guy and she didn't like him one bit.

"Haruno." He replied, walking towards Sasuke's office door. Sakura gathered every ounce of courage she had to stop him.

"Uchiha Sasuke-san.." She started, carefully using Sasuke's whole name, "is busy at the moment –" She stopped when he gave her another piercing look. Itachi just walked away, uncaring.

* * *

Sasuke heard the office door open and he looked up, expecting it was Sakura, but was really disappointed AND pissed when he saw his brother.

_'News travel fast.' _Sasuke thought. Itachi walked towards his brother, stopping to sit on one of the chairs in front of Sasuke's chair.

"I've been hearing a lot of things." Itachi said in a cold voice, much colder than what Sasuke usually uses. Sasuke ignored him. "You seem to be spending a lot of time with Haruno. I believe you were together with her last night." He added.

"Hn." Sasuke replied, continuing his work. Itachi smirked.

"Ino has been complaining to me." Itachi said, he was playing the pens that were stacked on one side of the table. "And there were a lot of other reports as well."

_'Right. Ino.' _Sasuke thought as he realized that he'd been paying less attention to his wife or to put it right, he's even forgotten that he's got a wife. It wasn't his fault, he spent most of his time in the office and Ino spent most of her time somewhere in Japan.

"Sasuke, our deal." Itachi said simply, staring at Sasuke. Sasuke looked up at him.

"I'm doing my job right." Sasuke replied truthfully. Itachi smirked again.

"What is Haruno in this office?" Itachi asked suddenly, reaching out for the phone that had a direct connection to Sakura's office phone.

"Why?" Sasuke asked backed. Itachi pressed the phone's button and after a minute or two, Sakura entered the room.

"You called?" Sakura asked fondly. She looked at the brothers and realized that it was Itachi who called her, seeing his hand on the phone. Sakura suddenly had a bad feeling. Itachi smirked.

"Haruno." Itachi said the second time that day. Sakura waited, her heart pounding. "You're fired." He ended with a smile which just made it bad.

Sakura's eyes widened. Was she hearing the right things? She was fired? That can't be. She worked for the company for 3 straight years and hasn't even done anything horrible. She just stared, dumbfounded and trembling.

'_I can't be fired. I have to support Ayaka.' _She thought over and over again, forgetting that she has Naruto now. Sasuke stood up calmly, his face not showing what he really felt, and he felt like slashing his brother into pieces.

"You don't have that kind of authority." Sasuke said, desperately wanting to save Sakura's job. He knew very well that Itachi had the right to fire anybody, but he's got to have some reason. Itachi looked at Sasuke.

"I have a good reason." Itachi said, as if reading Sasuke's mind. He turned back to Sakura who was still frozen on the spot. "For having an affair with your boss." He said accusingly. Sakura tried to process what he said and Sasuke couldn't believe what he heard.

"That's not true." Sasuke replied when he heard nothing from Sakura. He knew it wasn't true, he should take the blame because he was the one pursuing her.

For Sakura though, the accusation had a big blow. Although she was not having an affair with Sasuke, it felt partly true. She had been thinking about him, responding to his advances and even been expecting some kind of turn of events that will make them reconcile. Tears slowly started welling in her eyes as the weight of this problem came to her. She's not only been cheating on Naruto, she's also led herself to lose her job.

"Well?" Itachi said, waiting for an answer from Sakura. Sakura swallowed the sudden lump that formed in her throat to keep her from crying.

_'I should've left the first time I became his secretary.' _She thought. "That's not true." Sakura finally said, "But I will gladly step aside if you think that I'm being a hindrance to Uchiha-san." She ended, bowing and turning back. Sasuke quickly walked towards her and grabbed her wrist, stopping her from leaving.

"Sakura." Sasuke hissed sharply. He turned to Itachi and glared at him. "She did nothing wrong. Don't involve her into this." He fiercely said. Itachi gave out a small smile.

"I think she knows what wrong she did." Itachi said. Sakura flinched, she pulled her hand away from Sasuke.

"When should I leave?"

"Immediately."

"No." Sasuke protested. "Ayaka." He whispered to her, careful not to let Itachi hear it, or he'll just find another excuse to probably banish Sakura from Japan. Sakura gave Sasuke a weak smile.

"I managed before, I can do that again." She replied simply, leaving the brothers inside the room. Sasuke turned to Itachi, who was now playing with the stacked pens again.

"Why are you doing this?" Sasuke asked, flames erupting in his eyes.

"To protect your marriage with Ino." Itachi said simply. Sasuke let out a sarcastic laugh.

"You just made it worst." He replied as he walked out of the room, Sakura in mind. Itachi was left inside the room, reflecting what he did and he just sighed.

_'I'm doing the right thing, I know I am.' _Itachi thought confidently to himself.

* * *

**A/N: ^_^ I've got nothing to say. HAHA.**

**January 28, 2011 [Friday; 8:13 a.m.]**

**Philippines**


	8. Choice 8: Couple Talks

**A/N: Yes. No matter how busy I am, I still have to post this. I don't want to break my weekly routine of posting new chapters. I hope that's fine for you guys, and I think it is. LOL. haha. ^_^ Your reviews about Itachi...I'll think about it. HAHA. [I just realized, my chapters are getting shorter and shorter. Damn. I need to work on that.]**

**Disclaimer: -...-**

* * *

**Choice # 8: Couple Talks**

* * *

It was Christmas Eve and everything was warm and happy inside Sakura's house, except for her. Sakura was whipping up some traditional Japanese dishes to celebrate Christmas. She had been busying herself with a lot of things since she was fired and cooking was one of them. She even made four cakes in her spare time and decorated it beautifully that it was really hard to ruin and eat it. She kept wearing a long face while all the steam from her pans are passing her face.

"You don't seem to be enjoying yourself." Naruto commented. He was coolly leaning on the kitchen door with his arms over his chest and was observing Sakura's every move. Sakura shook her head, trying to get herself back to reality. She needed to focus and be happy since it was Christmas Eve, she didn't want to ruin the night.

"Really? I think I'm quite enjoying it very much. And acting cool is not your thing Naruto." Sakura said trying to give out a vibrant smile and also commenting on Naruto's current stance. "Would you like some ramen? It'll be finished soon." She added.

Naruto approached her and hugged her, burying his face on her neck. Sakura didn't know why but she felt goosebumps run up and down her body and it's not in a very good way, she stiffened as if she was not used to Naruto hugging her.

"You've been really depressed after you left your job." Naruto whispered, he didn't seem to notice that Sakura was finding his hug very uncomfortable. "Are you sure you don't want to work anymore?" He asked softly.

"It's better this way and besides, you've always wanted me to quit since I became Sasuke's secretary." Sakura reasoned out. It was true, Naruto was against the idea from the start. Naruto pulled away.

"But if you're not happy, then it's not worth it." Naruto replied, even though it pained him to know that Sakura was happier when she was working with Sasuke rather than staying at home and being his wife. Sakura shrugged, she didn't want him to feel bad by saying that she still wanted to work there.

"Drop it, okay. Ayaka's waiting in the living room, tell her we're eating dinner soon." Sakura said, changing the topic stiffly. Naruto laughed as he craned his neck to look at Ayaka who was in front of the Christmas tree, eyes twinkling at the gifts.

"She seems to be waiting for Santa though." Naruto ended as he walked out of the door. He went to Ayaka and saw her by the Christmas tree and she was now playing with the gifts under it. She was trying hard not to rip open the gifts at that moment. Naruto chuckled and went to her.

"Are you excited?" Naruto asked her, patting her cute little head. Ayaka nodded, tapping Naruto's gift repeatedly.

"Na-chan's gift is very big." Ayaka replied, patting the big box that was Naruto's gift for her. Naruto had a proud look on his face.

"Of course. Ayaka's a special girl so her gift is special too." He replied. Ayaka giggled.

"Mama will have a gift from Na-chan too? She's sad." Ayaka said, noticing her mother's recent attitude change. Ayaka had always been a very bright girl and she can observe everything around her and remember it well. Naruto thought for a while and then smiled.

"I think I just thought of the perfect gift for her." Naruto said.

They spent Christmas Eve together and opened their gifts before going to sleep. Sakura was pretty bummed to not have a job before Christmas but since it has been 3 weeks at most, she just shrugged and tried to forget it.

* * *

At the Yamanaka mansion, Sasuke and Ino were spending their Christmas together and things were very awkward between them. Sasuke was not talking and Ino knows perfectly why. She gave out a smile, trying to lighten up the mood. She just came back from her trip and she just wanted to have a light hearted and romantic Christmas dinner with her husband.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Ino asked. Indeed, there was a lot of food in front of them and Sasuke's not touching any of it. He was not really finding the food very appetizing at the moment.

"Not hungry." Sasuke said. He didn't even know why he was there; he was not talking, not eating and not doing anything at all, he was just staring at Ino with his arms crossed over his chest in a very cool way. Ino felt his piercing look at her and she just ate quietly. Sasuke is really scary at times and she still didn't know how to deal with him properly.

"Okay then." Ino started, still with a pleasant voice. "I'm really happy that I've been able to spend Christmas with you. It was really hard to escape from my father." Ino said, deciding to change the topic. Sasuke found it an opportunity though.

"Someone else's Christmas is not as happy as yours, I believe." Sasuke said, not tearing his eyes away from Ino. Ino was looking at her plate, finding the food very interesting for some reason. She did not dare look up because she knows that she will have to meet Sasuke's angry eyes.

"That's impossible, every Christmas is a happy one for everybody." Ino laughed awkwardly. Sasuke still didn't let it go.

"True, if you find that being fired is a great gift for this season." Sasuke said sarcastically. He wanted her to think about what she did. Ino gulped, she knew Sasuke was mad at her. There was a long pause. "Well?" Sasuke said. Ino looked up.

"Can you really blame me?" Ino started. "I've heard a lot about you and Haruno, Sasuke. You've been treating her extremely well or so I've heard." Ino told him truthfully. "You two are practically attached to each other." She ended. Sasuke just gave her a boring look.

"Hn." Sasuke replied. _'Who is it that's reporting to her?' _He thought very calmly, thinking of all the employees in the office. Ino frowned at Sasuke's lack of response.

"What is she to you?" She asked, wanting to know what Sakura really meant for Sasuke. Sasuke stayed silent, still thinking about who could possibly tell Ino what he was doing at the office. "What is she to you, Sasuke?" Ino repeated, pulling Sasuke out of his thoughts and back to reality.

"She's my secretary." Sasuke replied simply, it was true but a little small on the details. Ino gave out a sarcastic chuckle.

"Is that really all?" She said. "Why is it that I don't believe you?" She ended. She was trying to be courageous in front of him even though she had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that this will not turn out well.

"That's your problem." He said coldly. He stood up and opted to leave.

"Do you love me?" Ino asked courageously, stopping Sasuke on his tracks. Ino was fighting back her tears, she didn't expect her Christmas to be this chaotic. "Tell me honestly." She added.

"Honestly?" Sasuke repeated. Ino felt like she shouldn't have asked at all, but there was no stopping Sasuke's answer. "No." He ended, walking away.

Ino couldn't believe her ears. She knew that Sasuke still hasn't gotten over the first girl that he loved, but it's been so many years and she's been a good friend and a wife. Ino was crying silently, she definitely loved Sasuke so much. Sasuke was being unfair and he knows it.

* * *

It was the week after Christmas and everyone at the office were talking happily about what happened over the Christmas day off, except for some people.

"I never thought it was serious. I wonder what she really did." Temari said, tapping her pen on her table that irritated the hell out of Tenten.

"Can you stop that?" Tenten replied, grabbing the pen from Temari. "I actually don't know why she was fired. She hasn't done anything wrong and she has always been on top." She added.

They were discussing Sakura being gone from the company. They still couldn't believe and couldn't get used to it. It was a normal routine in the morning that she'll be part of the gossiping group and without her, it was unusual. The day just got more unusual when Sasuke came in followed by a trudging Naruto behind him. They passed the gossiping girls and walked inside Sasuke's office.

"Whoa. What was that awkward and somewhat tense atmosphere just now?" Temari asked, shuddering a bit. It was like a ghost passed their way, _two _ghosts for that matter.

"What did you expect? It's Naruto and Sasuke together, the two men in Sakura's life." Tenten whispered.

Tenten, Temari, Choji and Shikamaru have already formed a conclusion that Sasuke and Sakura probably shared a relationship before and that resulted to Ayaka being born. Also, that explained why Sasuke was fond of Sakura and Ayaka since the very beginning.

* * *

Inside Sasuke's office, there was pure silence. Naruto and Sasuke were staring at each other for a long, tension-filled moment that one could even hear the faintest sounds coming from outside. Sasuke made his way towards his desk and sat on his chair, not bothering to offer Naruto a seat. Naruto just stood there and cleared his throat.

"So." Naruto started. Sasuke was just staring at him with his usual bored look.

"Why are you here?" Sasuke asked straightforwardly, though he definitely knew the reason of Naruto's presence.

"She's in a slump." Naruto said simply, he knew that Sasuke would get it even if he doesn't mention a name. Sasuke continued to stare.

"Why are _you_ here?" Sasuke repeated, emphasizing the word 'you'. Naruto winced.

"I don't want her to come here and beg for her job back." Naruto replied.

"I thought her pride ate her up that's why she's not here herself." Sasuke retorted, knowing Sakura pretty well, he knew that she's not going to turn up even though she's suffering a lot.

"Well, that too." Naruto replied feebly. "I know that she hadn't done anything wrong, so, as much as I hate this.." He paused, "please let her be your secretary again." He ended. This spiked up Sasuke's interest.

"What did she tell you?" Sasuke asked, ignoring Naruto who was currently bowing and pleading. Naruto looked up.

_'She didn't tell me anything.' _He thought. "Everything." Naruto lied. Sasuke smirked.

"Really?" He replied in an amused voice. _'Liar. If she did, you wouldn't be here begging for her job back. I won't complain though.'_ He thought. He did not push the topic further. Naruto tried to not look confused.

"Can you take her back?" Naruto asked. Sasuke sneered at his choice of words, it was very wrong of him to ask that.

"Oh, you're willing to give her back?" Sasuke smirked. Naruto is an idiot sometimes. _'Well, most of the time.' _He thought. Naruto grunted.

"Not in a million years." Naruto retorted. _'You'll just hurt her again, just like 5 years ago.' _He thought. "I was talking about her job." He said.

"She'll start tomorrow." Sasuke said nonchalantly. Naruto cursed under his breath as he walked away.

* * *

Outside, Sakura's friends were all listening intently at the door and their conclusions were somewhat confirmed from what they heard in Sasuke and Naruto's conversation. They moved away from the door just in time as Naruto came out and left the office.

"Did you hear that?" Tenten asked. Temari and the others nodded.

"I guess Sakura was Sasuke's girl first." Temari replied in a hushed voice. Shikamaru frowned.

"But Sasuke's the one showing interest again, the man's got a wife." Shikamaru replied with a surprising fierceness in his voice. Temari and Tenten glowered at him.

"Maybe he just loves Sakura more, no, let me rephrase that, maybe he still loves Sakura." Temari replied, giggling. Shikamaru snorted.

"That doesn't mean he can cheat on his wife." He replied, walking away briskly. Temari and Tenten looked confused.

"What's with him?" Tenten asked no one in particular.

"He's angry because he thinks that Yamanaka-san deserves a better person." Choji said in between munches of his food.

"Why is he angry? It's not like he's involved or anything." Temari replied. They just shrugged it away.

"It's so sweet." Tenten said suddenly. "Their love story is very sweet." She added. Tenten and Temari entered a giggling fest that made Choji walk away, thinking that girls are weird.

* * *

Hinata was once again at Sakura's house, she called her frantically once she sent Ayaka to school that's why Hinata came as soon as she can. They were at Sakura's room with Sakura whining in a very loud voice. Hinata sighed.

"If you really want to go back, then just go." Hinata told her calmly. She wasn't really voicing her opinion out, she knew that it was what Sakura wanted to hear. Sakura cried waterfalls.

"I can't! Itachi's just going to fire me again once news gets to him." Sakura cried. She honestly didn't know what she did to the guy for him to hate her so much.

"Why do you even want to go back?" Hinata asked, eyeing Sakura. Sakura paused, not knowing what to say.

"I..honestly don't know." Sakura said, thinking it over. "But somehow, it feels right, just being there." She ended. Something in Hinata's eyes tells Sakura that Hinata's not happy at all at what she replied.

"If it feels right, it's wrong, right?" Hinata said. Sakura's nose bled.

"I didn't quite get that." Sakura told her truthfully. Hinata looked deep into Sakura eyes and shook her shoulders.

"You have to wake up, Sakura. You shouldn't forget that you have a husband." Hinata reminded her. Sakura suddenly found her nails very interesting.

"I didn't forget." She replied. It was true, when she was enjoying Sasuke's company, she kept on reminding herself about Naruto, but it just doesn't work.

"Good because you won't like what I'll do to you if you forget." Hinata said threateningly. Sakura gulped, she couldn't afford losing her best friend, not to mention get beaten up by her. "I think it's better if you don't go back there." Hinata said. "The more you're away from Sasuke, the better your life will be." She ended.

Hinata left the house after lecturing Sakura about what she should do.

* * *

Sakura was pretty convinced that she doesn't have to go back, so when Naruto told her the news, it shocked her to death, literally.

"Are you okay now?" Naruto asked for probably the hundredth time that day. Sakura fainted from shock and she wasn't over-reacting. It was too much for her and it was really unexpected.

"Do you know how difficult it was to accept that I'm not working there anymore?" Sakura said in a huff. She was having a fit alright.

"Yes. That's why I went there to ask for your job back." Naruto said calmly.

"Why? You know I'll still be working with Sasuke. Doesn't that bother you?"

"It does, you can't believe how much it bothers me, but if that's what you want, then it's fine with me." He replied, but his face is not cooperating. He was making a disapproving face.

"Your face is all distorted. Are you sure you're okay with it?" Sakura asked. She knew that it was difficult of him to do that and she appreciated it, but she didn't know if she can get a hold of herself once she gets back on the job.

"I'm fine with it. Don't make me change my mind." Naruto said and Sakura knew he meant it.

"Okay, okay. I'll stop asking." Sakura chuckled. "Thank you." She said. She stiffened, she didn't want to kiss him as a thank you gesture so she did the lamest thank you gesture ever made; she gave him a double pat on the shoulder, pretty much like what best friends would. Naruto frowned, confused at her actions but he stood up and went towards their room, he wanted to sleep, that visit in Sasuke's office drained his energy. Sakura sighed.

_'You're doing all this for me while I can't even guarantee if I love you as much. I'm sorry.'_ She thought.

* * *

Sakura went to work the next day, surprising everybody immensely. She entered the office shyly and was greeted with a lot of '_I missed you'_ and '_welcome back_'. Sakura smiled shyly, not expecting that everyone were actually thinking about her a lot.

"Sakura! I knew you'd come back! You haven't done anything wrong!" Temari said with a big grin on her face.

"Good to know that you're back." Tenten said while patting Sakura's back.

"Welcome back Sakura." Shikamaru said with a smile on his face. Sakura was going to answer them all when Sasuke passed their way, ignoring all of them and confusing Sakura in the process. If it was a normal day, she'd always get pissed off by him but now, he was acting very odd.

"Uh, guys, I'll go inside and talk to Sasuke first, okay?" Sakura said, walking away from the group.

* * *

Sakura entered Sasuke's office and saw him calmly waiting for her. Sasuke was standing not far from the door, clearly waiting for Sakura to enter. Once she did, Sakura saw a smile crept to his face.

"Welcome back." Sasuke said, his smile still intact. Sakura blushed at his smile, her heart wanting to melt at that moment.

_'He should really stop doing that.' _She thought. She cleared her throat and sighed. "I thought you were ignoring me." Sakura said as she closed the door behind her. Sasuke's smile turned into a smirk.

"We're you worried that I was?" He retorted. Sakura snorted.

"The more we stay away from each other, the better. So, I guess it's fine if you're ignoring me." Sakura said. Now, even the smirk was wiped off Sasuke's face.

"Hn." He started. "Get away from Nara Shikamaru." Sasuke ordered her, walking towards his desk and sitting on his chair. Sakura sat down in the chair that she usually sits in.

"Shika? He's my friend." Sakura said with a frown. _'Why would he want me to avoid Shika?' _Sakura thought, totally lost. Shikamaru didn't do anything wrong, did he?

"If you want to keep your job, stay away from him." Sasuke warned her with a seriously serious tone. Sakura just stared, waiting for an explanation that Sasuke did not give her. She sighed.

"Okay then." She replied, not really taking it seriously. "Oh, and thank you for giving me back my job." Sakura said with a bow. "How'd you convince Itachi?"

"Convincing Ino was enough." Sasuke said, not bothering to look up at her. "Don't bother with Itachi." He said fiercely. Sakura knew why, Sasuke hated his brother's guts. Sakura nodded, she doesn't want to argue with him now since that'll just lead to another fight.

"I'll go back to work then." Sakura said awkwardly as she walked out of Sasuke's office.

* * *

Work just continued as usual and with the New Year approaching, the whole company was busy especially the production and marketing department. They have to think of new products and a new trend for the upcoming year and when the New Year passed, the atmosphere even became busier than they imagined. It was February and the business is driving them all mad.

"Sasuke, Hiroshi-san of the marketing department from one of the Hokkaido branches is asking when they'll receive the latest markets as a year-starter." Sakura said, entering Sasuke's office with a lot of papers in her hands.

Sasuke was busy talking over the phone and just held up a hand to Sakura, so she waited. Once he was done, Sakura saw the weariness in Sasuke's eyes. He ran a hand on his hair and grunted. She sighed and approached him.

"It's been hell huh? Take a break, you're the busiest person in this department." Sakura said, putting down the papers and relaxing for a moment. Sasuke groaned, he never thought that he'll be the busy in this job, he thought that he'll escape all of this madness because he had people to do it all for him but apparently, it's not like that.

"Hiroshi of Hokkaido?" Sasuke asked, getting the papers that Sakura just dropped in front of him. Sakura frowned and grabbed the papers back.

"I said relax, Sasuke." Sakura said, getting angry at Sasuke for pushing himself too hard. It has always been like that, he was always supposed to be _Mr. Perfect _in front of everyone he knew. He is always entitled to do everything perfectly and always right. It must be hard being him.

"Hn. I don't have time for that, give it back." Sasuke said, grabbing back the papers. After a lot of paper grabbing, he forfeited. "What do you want me to do?" He asked, bored and annoyed at how childish they both were right now.

"Nothing, just relax for a moment. Everyone's been helping out so you shouldn't stress yourself out this much." Sakura said in a concerned voice that made Sasuke feel warm. He thought of something and he smikred, this was the perfect time.

"We're going on a business trip. Tomorrow." He suddenly said. Sakura frowned.

"I just told you to rela—" She was cut off as Sasuke spoke.

"_I will relax,_ but it's also a business trip." He said, standing up and walking towards the door. He stopped, his hand on the door. "To Hokkaido." He ended as he walked out of the office, leaving Sakura alone in the room.

"Hokkaido? But I—" She didn't finish her sentence because Sasuke walked out the door, probably to have a snack or something. "I'm from there." Sakura ended. She sighed, she didn't know what's running through Sasuke's mind.

* * *

**A/N: There's less SasuSaku moment here, but I'll make it up in the next chapter. You guys probably thought that I'll be evil and not let them meet for a long time right? WRONG! haha. I'm not that evil and I think doing that makes the story a bit of a drag and I have other plans. :D **

**I wanted to write something for Valentines Day, like a Valentines Day special or something that I can work on. [Well, that just revealed that I don't have a date this upcoming Valentines. Damn, it's _SINGLE AWARENESS DAY_ everybody! XD ] Any suggestions? ^_^**

**Thanks for all the reviews btw. :D They are all very much appreciated. ^_^ I'm still thinking of the Itachi thing, I wonder what I'll do to him and I wonder what'll happen when he finds out. hmmmm. :D I'll try to write it down as fast as I can. ^_^**

* * *

**February 5, 2011 [Saturday - 11:30 a.m.]**

**Philippines**


	9. Choice 9: Visitors Visiting

**A/N: Update, update! ^_^ My dog's crying so I'll make it quick. LOL. haha. He'll be eating my laptop soon. Chapter 9 everybody. ^_^ Ahh..another short chapter. I really have to improve, so sorry, my brain's not working right. I'll try harder for the next chapter. :)**

**Disclaimer: ...?**

* * *

**Choice # 9: Visitors Visiting**

* * *

"This is not a good idea."

Sakura was now in the front seat of Sasuke's car while he was driving northward to the Aomori prefecture. She was surprised when Sasuke turned up early that morning, picking her up from her house and practically kidnapping her. Sasuke smirked.

"Sasuke, this is not a good idea." Sakura repeated the hundredth time that day. She didn't even get to ask for Naruto's opinion about the trip. He didn't even know she was gone; he's going to be so angry once he finds out that she's not beside him in bed.

"Hn." was all Sasuke replied, keeping quiet about everything. "I thought you told me to relax." Sasuke said.

"I did! But it's not a good idea to bring me along!" Sakura said in a rush, remembering Itachi's face when he fired her.

"I told you it's a business trip, you're getting paid. And shut it, we can't turn back." Sasuke said simply. Sakura sighed. She heard a rummage from the back seat and she turned to look.

"AYAKA?" Sakura screamed. Her eyes were not deceiving her; Ayaka was really there, playing with the bags. "How did you get there?" Sakura's eyes widened.

"Papa…" Ayaka started to point at Sasuke, but she heard Sasuke clear his throat and saw his reflection at the mirror and she giggled. "Oops. No, Ayaka slipped in." She said innocently lying. Sakura narrowed her eyes at Sasuke.

"You're teaching the girl how to lie." Sakura glared at him. "You planned this didn't you?" She said. Sasuke sneered.

"Mama. We're going to Oji-san's house?" Ayaka asked, poking her head out from the backseat. Sakura smiled.

"No, Aya-chan, we—" She was cut off.

"Yes." Sasuke replied for Sakura. "Ayaka wanted to see her Oji-san, right?" Sasuke said. Ayaka nodded and went back to play in the backseat. Sakura thought for a while, her anger fading away.

"You planned this..for me?" Sakura said awkwardly. "You wanted _me _torelax." She said, the conclusions forming in her head. Sasuke didn't budge. Sakura's face lit up as she pinched Sasuke's cheek.

"Oi! I'm driving." Sasuke reacted, pushing Sakura's hand away.

"Thank you." Sakura muttered, blushing. Sasuke was definitely full of himself now. Suddenly, a thought landed on Sakura's mind, she sighed. "Oh no, this is going to be a real pain in the ass." Sakura said to herself.

"What?" Sasuke asked. Sakura shook her head.

"Nothing."

They were practically road tripping all over Japan, well, half of it at least. It was almost noon when she heard her phone ring and she instantly knew who it was. Sasuke grunted, annoyed at the phone and probably at the person calling too. She quickly answered it to stop the ringing and to avoid waking Ayaka up.

"Naru—" She was cut off when she heard him scream over the phone.

"Where the hell are you? I've been looking for you since I woke up! I called Hinata and all your other friends and they said you weren't there! Is Ayaka with you?" He said, going mad at the other line. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"I'm on my way to Hokkaido for a business trip and yes, Ayaka is with me so stop over-reacting." Sakura told him truthfully, sighing. Naruto wasn't convinced though.

"Business trip? Are you sure that's a business trip? You're with Sasuke again, aren't you? You didn't even tell me about this _business trip _of yours." Naruto said angrily. Sakura heard a very accusing tone in his voice which happens all the time nowadays.

"So what if I am? At least he took the time and effort to compress my work and vacation. You should be thankful I'm getting a break, you know that I was dying to have one." Sakura said, trying to calm herself down.

"Now you're on his side? For all I know, you're just _dying _to have a break with him. Just so you know Sakura, you have a husband, so stop being such a bit—"

"Don't you dare finish that word." Sakura said coldly in a low voice. She knew Naruto had the right to be angry, but calling her a _bitch _was definitely out of line. Naruto seemed to have caught what he just tried to say and came back to his senses.

"Sakura, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I was jus—"

"I don't want to talk to you. Don't try to call me while I'm away." Sakura said, still in her low voice. Sasuke sensed the hurt in her voice and he knew that Naruto probably opened that big mouth of his again.

"Sakura, come on, plea—" But he was cut off when Sakura clicked her phone off.

Naruto should've known that she kept on trying, trying to keep their relationship in control. She was being rational about all the things that had been happening, trying to remind herself that she was married even though her heart feels like she wasn't. She felt a hand touch hers and she looked up at Sasuke, he wasn't looking at her of course.

"One word. Jerk." Sasuke said simply. Sakura smiled for a bit before pulling her hand away.

"You were one too." She said with a quiet laugh. Sasuke shrugged.

* * *

It was quiet all the way to Aomori. She tried to forget the phone call and tried to focus on the trip. When they arrived, that was when Sakura realized that they were going to Hokkaido, Sapporo to be exact, so taking Sasuke's car doesn't make any sense at all. She frowned.

"How are we going to get to Sapporo?" Sakura asked stupidly. Sasuke tried his hard not to laugh, he kept his cool.

"Are you Japanese or what?" Sasuke asked coldly, Ayaka in tow. "Japan Rail Pass." Sasuke said, holding up a ticket.

"Why did you bring your car anyway? We could've just taken the ferry boat from Niigata, it's a much shorter route." Sakura said as a matter-of-factly as she thought of the easiest, but not really the quickest, way possible to Sapporo.

"None of your business." Sasuke replied, not wanting to answer her. Sakura rolled her eyes at him.

"You really have this all planned out, don't you? You even made ticket reservations beforehand." Sakura said. She got the rail pass from Sasuke and they waited for the train.

They rode the train to Sapporo, it had been a long time since she went back home. This was really nice of Sasuke to think of letting her have a vacation_-slash-_business trip. Sakura glanced over at Sasuke who was gently stroking the hair of a still sleeping Ayaka on his lap. Her eyes gleamed of admiration…and something else. Sasuke felt her gaze, he smirked.

"You fell in love with me just now, didn't you?" Sasuke said, putting Sakura's thoughts into words. Sakura blushed.

"Disgusting." She said, looking away to hide her blush and her small smile. _'You're too tempting, you know that?' _She thought with a sigh.

If she encounters more of this side of Sasuke, she doesn't know if she can control herself anymore. In the corner of her eye, Sakura saw Sasuke yawn. She turned her head around and held out her hand.

"Give her to me. You should go to sleep." Sakura worriedly said. She knew how horrible it must've been for Sasuke to drive from Tokyo to Aomori. It was a long drive, almost half a day. Sasuke shooed her hands away.

"You're not ruining this father-daughter moment." Sasuke said, wrapping his hands around Ayaka, acting childish. Sakura just shook her head and laughed.

"You're really something else, Sasuke. I wonder what happened to the '_you' _before." Sakura said with a smile. Sasuke looked outside the window.

"I guess he melts away when you're around." Sasuke muttered silently, seeing the frost melting in the window.

* * *

After grueling hours of sitting in the train, they finally arrived at Hokkaido. They took a cab from the station to Sapporo and it was _freaking _cold. It was February after all and it was still winter, especially in the northern part of the country.

"Cold." Ayaka said, her lips trembling and her nose red. Sasuke smiled as he wrapped his scarf around her neck and covering half of her face, only showing her eyes. Ayaka mumbled her thanks.

"We're almost there." Sakura said. Even though Ayaka was trembling from the cold, her eyes gave out the warmth she felt inside. It was her first time in Sapporo and the last time her grandparents saw her was when Sakura got married to Naruto, which was about a year ago.

Not long after that, they arrived at a quiet neighborhood with snow covering the place. The cab sped off as Sasuke paid the driver. They were standing in front of an old-fashioned house, with a chimney and stuff that was all covered with snow, it was a white winter indeed. Sasuke glanced at Sakura and saw that she was crying, he approached her and stood next to her.

"Welcome home." Sasuke said softly. Sakura bit her lip to stop herself from crying even more.

She remembered it; the last time she was home was before she attended college at Tokyo University. She never visited after that because her parents would often go to Tokyo themselves, instead of her going back to Sapporo. She sighed, her hand found Sasuke's warm hand and she squeezed it tight. She just had to share her feelings with someone else. Sakura led the way and knocked on the door, thrice.

"Who's the—?" An aunt who was roughly about 50 years old started while opening the door, she looked up and saw Sakura's smiling face. "PAPA!" She tried her best to scream inside, even though her voice sounded very rustic from the cold. Just then, an uncle, about the same age, came into view.

"Don't be so loud." The man said, annoyed at his wife. He, however, took notice of the little girl first. "Who's this little person?" He asked, his eyes failing him because of the fog and of old age.

"Sakura. Sakura came home!" The lady said, her eyes streaming with joy. The man frowned.

"Last time I checked, our daughter had pink hair and wasn't she tall?." He said, touching the little girl's raven hair. Ayaka laughed.

"Jii-chan, I'm not Mama." Ayaka said softly, pointing upwards to her mother. Sakura laughed quietly at her father.

"Ma, Pa. Tadaima." Sakura said simply. She was immediately welcomed with a hug by her parents, along with Ayaka. Sasuke couldn't help but smile at the view, he never had a family; well, at least not like this.

"It's freezing outside, come along." Her mother said. Sakura, however, stopped first and stepped aside, revealing Sasuke behind. "Oh, you have someone with you." Her mother took notice. "Introductions inside, my dear." She said nicely, she didn't ask why Naruto wasn't with them.

They entered the house and it was really nice and cozy. There was a roaring fire in the living room and Sakura noticed that a magazine of knitting patterns was opened next to a knitted pillow case.

"You're knitting now, Ma? You've gotten old." Sakura said playfully, laughing at her mother's expression.

"I've got nothing else to do." Her mother said with a snort. This amused Sasuke to all levels; now he knew where Sakura got all the snorting habits.

Sakura nodded, she glanced at her father who was sending death glares at Sasuke, her eyes widened. She knew her father very well and giving death glares was one thing she didn't like to see, most of the time. They sat down in the living room, Ayaka sat beside her grandparents while Sakura and Sasuke sat beside each other.

"Ma, Pa, this is Uchiha Sasuke. You…know him, I presume." Sakura started, unsure of what to say.

Indeed, her parents knew Sasuke from all the stories she told them, but they've only met him once and she knew her parents were always forgetful when it comes to faces. Sasuke bowed in respect, Sakura was surprised. _'So this guy is respectful after all.' _She thought. Mr. Haruno eyed him warily while Mrs. Haruno just smiled.

"It's very nice to meet you, Sasuke. Thank you for bringing our daughter over for a visit." Mrs. Haruno said nicely.

"She deserves a break, Haruno-san." Sasuke replied, his politeness was clearly mind-blowing. Mr. Haruno cleared his throat, Sakura and Mrs. Haruno immediately looked at him.

"So, _this _is _him_?" Mr. Haruno started.

Sasuke's eyebrows did not twitch even for a moment and Sakura's eyes just widened. This was what she feared. She understood her father's dislike of Sasuke since he knew that Sasuke left her with a baby, but she always feared confrontation since she always ends up pretty much embarrassed.

"Dear.."

"Pa.."

The two women started, but no, there was no stopping Mr. Haruno with his interrogation. Sasuke just waited, he was never the type to back down and Mr. Haruno sensed this.

"Sakura, this is the _guy _whom you fell madly in love with?" Mr. Haruno said, looking over at Sakura. Sakura's eyes widened. Right, here comes the embarrassment part.

"I did not fall madly in love with h—"

"Yes you did, you wrote that in your letters." He said, he cleared his throat, "_Ma, Pa, Sasuke was just awesome today, you should've seen him, -sigh-, I'm really falling madly in love with him." _He recounted. Sakura winced. "That's what you said in one of your letters." He said. Mrs. Haruno was just watching, slightly amused.

"That was.." Sakura started, she heard a _'heh' _coming from Sasuke's side and she knew that he was enjoying this. She cursed under her breath, giving Sasuke a death glare which she probably learned from her father. "..a long time ago." She finished her sentence.

"What is so _awesome _about this man? Tell me. If he's so _awesome, _he should've taken responsibility of things." Mr. Haruno said, glancing at Ayaka who has now vanished from their side and was starting to play with the knitting objects.

"If I may, Haruno-san, I didn't leave Sakura without a reason." Sasuke said truthfully.

He never told anyone the reason why he left and maybe this was the perfect time to tell somebody to clear out the misunderstanding, even just to her parents. Sakura was now interested, she glanced at Sasuke and their eyes met, there was something in them that told her he doesn't want her to know.

"Tell me your reason then." Mr. Haruno said, standing up. He probably realized that Sasuke doesn't want Sakura to know when he saw him glance at her, so Mr. Haruno stood up. "Follow me." He said. Sasuke obediently followed. Sakura and her mother were left inside the living room.

* * *

"Mama, what was that?" Sakura asked, sitting next to her mother. Mrs. Haruno just laughed.

"Leave them be. Papa needs to, you know, _evaluate _the man. You know how he did that to Naruto." Her mother replied, observing Ayaka's every move and laughing as she stumbled in one of the chairs. "She definitely looks like her father." She added. Sakura nodded.

"They're pretty close, I couldn't stop it. Maybe it's because of blood relations." Sakura said. She turned to her mother again. "You're not looking for Naruto." Sakura stated, somewhat confused. Her mother laughed.

"I was expecting him, yes, but after seeing that you have Uchiha Sasuke with you, I won't be surprised if you tell me you're divorced." Her mother said truthfullyand casually.

"Ma!" Sakura started hitting her mother playfully, attracting Ayaka's attention, resulting in her doing the same thing to her grandmother. Mrs. Haruno just laughed.

"Sakura, I'm your mother, I know what you feel just by looking at you." Mrs. Haruno said, stroking her daughter's hair. Ayaka was back again to the knitting patterns.

"How can you? For all you know, I might've fallen in love with Naruto over the past year." Sakura said in a low voice. Her mother smiled.

"Hm." Her mother replied in a disbelieving tone. Sakura sighed, her mother shook her head. "Do you remember I asked you if you made the right choice before you got married?" She said. Sakura nodded.

"Yes. I thought I did." Sakura replied. Her mother smiled.

"But did you really?" She asked. Sakura shook her head, not really sure.

"Do you think I did?" Sakura asked. Her mother smiled at her, giving her a warm, motherly hug.

"That's for you to decide. Just remember, if you're having second thoughts, say it honestly to the person involved, that way, you won't be unfair." Her mother reminded her, she stood up and went to the kitchen to prepare food, Ayaka followed suit.

Sakura couldn't believe the support her mother was giving her; heck, she couldn't even believe that her mother would be supporting her since this was all madness. Her mother always wanted her to be happy and she probably sensed that she was being happy, not with Naruto, but with another person. She sighed.

"He's married. There are a lot of people involved, not just us." She told herself.

* * *

"Why don't you tell her?" Mr. Haruno asked.

Sasuke told him the reason why he left. Mr. Haruno listened intently and after much interrogation, he decided that Sasuke was telling the truth. He sensed that Sasuke was still very much in love with his daughter, though he attempts to conceal it was pretty good.

"She'd go crazy. I can just imagine her face when I tell her." Sasuke said truthfully. Mr. Haruno gave him a piercing look.

"Do you love her still?" Mr. Haruno asked. Sasuke looked straight at him and gave out a rare smile.

"Yes." He answered straightforwardly, catching Mr. Haruno off guard. When he asked that to Naruto, the guy paused and stammered first before letting out an answer.

"She's married, you are aware of that, right?" Mr. Haruno asked. Sasuke nodded.

"Of course, and I'm also aware that she's not happy." Sasuke replied, still full of confidence. Mr. Haruno placed his hands over his chest.

"And you're married." Mr. Haruno said.

"I will resolve that matter myself, but I assure you that I will not hurt Sakura again." Sasuke said. Mr. Haruno shook his head.

"I personally don't want you to be with her again, but if she chooses you, then I have nothing else to say." He said, standing up. "I'd like to see where this confidence of yours will take you." He ended, walking away. Sasuke smirked.

"You'll see." He told no one in particular.

Sasuke planned to stay at Hokkaido for a week before going back to the busy city of Tokyo. He thought he'd collect his thoughts here and finally decide on what to do. He remembered that he had to meet up with a Hiroshi Kenji of the Sapporo district to discuss the new markets of Yamanaka fashion. He decided to postpone the meeting and allot his time first to Sakura and Ayaka.

* * *

**A/N: Ah..so refreshing after posting. ^_^ I'm seriously having a runny nose right now, it's gross. haha. I'm writing too much that when I'm proofreading, my brain interchanges Sasuke and Sakura's name. It's insane. hahaha. Good night people! ^_^ Gotta go and have a decent sleep. Oh...it's Valentines already! HAPPY SINGLE AWARENESS DAY! [Damn it. I gotta go and grab somebody for a date later today. LOL. hahaha.]**

**Thanks for the reviews everybody! I had fun reading all of them! ^_^ Write one for this chapter too! Thankssss. :)**

* * *

**February 14, 2011 [Monday - 12:03 a.m.]**

**Philippines**


	10. Choice 10: Family Bonding

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the late update, I wasn't really intending to post this chapter yet since I still don't know how the story will flow after the next few chapters but I was pressured by one of my friends to post it. So, you guys should thank her, let's name her _Miss Anonymous. _HAHA. ^_^ Here you go. chapter 10.. ^_^**

**Disclaimer: Characters are not mine. :D**

* * *

**Choice #10: Family Bonding**

* * *

Sakura and Sasuke slept in different rooms of course, seeing as her father doesn't like him much. Sakura slept alone the night before since Ayaka insisted on sleeping beside her grandparents. Mr. Haruno practically locked Sasuke inside his room before going to bed, making sure that he won't sneak out. On their third morning, Sakura already had plans.

"Papa, I'll be taking Ayaka out after lunch, I want to tour her around Sapporo." Sakura said, taking a bite of her toast. Sasuke looked interested.

"Oh, a tour? Why don't you take Sasuke-kun too? He's probably never traveled up north that much." Her mother said, earning her a shot of glares from both Sakura and her father. Her mother just gave her an innocent smile.

"Fine. We'll be taking a tour around the city." Sakura said in defeat. Ayaka was just listening intently and upon hearing that Sasuke was coming, her face lit up.

"Yipee! Papa is coming!" Ayaka squealed, hopping over to Sasuke and climbing onto his lap. Sasuke smiled a bit for a moment upon seeing Ayaka's reaction. Sakura's father's eyes widened at what he heard though.

"Sakura! She knows that Sasuke is her father?" Mr. Haruno said quite loudly that everyone in the room went silent. Sakura bit her lip, wanting to strangle her father to death.

"No.." Sakura hissed, she caught a glimpse of a stunned Ayaka, even though she's just 6, she certainly understood a lot of things. Ayaka just sat silently, probably trying to decipher what she heard. Sakura glared at her father who was looking at her apologetically. "You just revealed it." Sakura ended her previous answer.

"I didn't..know." Her father said, knowing his mistake. Sakura sighed and told Sasuke to usher Ayaka outside the dining room while she talked this out with her parents. Ayaka and Sasuke obliged and they left the room.

"Pa…" Sakura started. Her father laughed nervously. "This is not a laughing matter. I wasn't planning on telling her yet." Sakura said in a low, but fierce voice.

"Sakura, it's about time she knows. She's become rather close to him already." Her mother said in a calm tone, telling Sakura what she had observed for the past days.

"I didn't picture telling her about it to be like this."

"You're going to have to tell her sooner or later. I suggest sooner, as in right now, so that she won't hold a grudge against you when she grows up." Her mother advised. Sakura sighed, her father was now quiet and letting her mother take over.

"Papa, you really should be thankful that you have Mama to cover up your mistake." Sakura sighed, standing up calmly.

"Go on then. You have a full day ahead of you, as a family." Her mother said with a smile. Sakura turned her back to them.

"Not quite." She mumbled, knowing that even though Ayaka will now be with her parents, they're not really an official family. She left them and joined Sasuke and Ayaka inside the living room.

Sakura saw Sasuke and Ayaka talking intently, well, at least Ayaka was talking, Sasuke was just sitting there and smiling at her.

"Papa! Are you my _REAL _Papa?" Ayaka asked. "Jii-chan just said.." Ayaka's voice trailed off.

"Let's leave that to your Mama." Sasuke replied simply, seeing Sakura approaching them. Sakura produced a crooked smile as she sat down beside Sasuke. "You look ridiculous." He said. Sakura shook her head as she tried to shake the uneasiness away from her mind as well.

"Ayaka. Will you be really angry if I answer 'yes' to your questions?" Sakura asked carefully. Ayaka just stared at her while Sakura was going insane because of the long pause.

"No." Ayaka said with a smile. '_This is going smoothly.' _Sakura and Sasuke thought. Ayaka jumped up and down excitedly. "Then it means that Sasuke-kun is really Papa! I'm so happy!" Ayaka squealed as she jumped towards Sasuke, giving him a full hug. Sasuke just hugged her back, patting her head lightly.

"Thank God. You're not angry at Mama for keeping her secret?" Sakura asked.

"No because Mama always say that Papa loves Ayaka even though Papa was not there." Ayaka smiled sheepishly, pulling away from Sasuke. Sakura laughed and hugged her daughter.

"Thank you Aya-chan." She said. Ayaka hugged her back and pulled away. She grabbed Sakura's hand and gave it to Sasuke to hold.

"Mama and Papa are together!" Ayaka said, teasing. Sakura thought that her daughter had gone nuts. She hastily pulled her hands away, Ayaka frowned when Sakura did so but before she could react, Sakura stood up.

"We better get going if you want to see the city." Sakura said, trying to get away. She eventually did, excusing herself and telling them that she'll prepare food. Ayaka was deeply thinking about something.

"What is it Ayaka?" Sasuke asked as he saw that Ayaka was bothered. Ayaka's face was scrunched all together.

"What is Na-chan then?" She asked, curious about it. She's been with Naruto for a year so it's normal that she would ask. Naruto was never a 'Papa' for her, he's more like an uncle that stays over at their house. Sasuke smirked, of course, she was his daughter and it's natural that she's smart. He knew that she'll eventually come to ask this.

"Come here, I'll tell you." Sasuke said, calling her over and whispering something to her ear. Ayaka's mouth formed a big 'O' as she nodded just in time when Sakura came back.

"What's all the whispering about?" Sakura asked. Ayaka smiled.

"Nothing." Sasuke said, a smug look plastered on his face. _'They're keeping secrets now? It was probably a bad idea to tell her the truth.' _Sakura thought, glaring at Sasuke.

* * *

They took off and stared touring Sapporo. Sakura became their tour guide as they took the local transportation to go to each place. They've been to the Sapporo Clock Tower, went to the Sapporo Beer Museum that even Sasuke got bored in since he's not really into drinking and the former government office building.

"Now that is the Sapporo TV Tower." Sakura said with a smile when they arrived at the place. Sasuke shook his head as he noticed that Ayaka was getting bored since they arrived.

"That's not exactly what a little girl wants to see." Sasuke said boredly. Even he was bored and he's a grown man. Sakura glared at him.

"Well, I'm sorry if I want to impart my Sapporo knowledge in our daughter." Sakura retorted, now openly saying that Ayaka is their daughter. Sasuke started to walk away; Ayaka looked at him and followed him, holding his hand. "Where are you two going?" Sakura asked.

"To Susukino." Sasuke replied. Sakura's eyes widened.

Susukino was Sapporo's red-light district, why the hell would Sasuke take Ayaka there? She's far too young. But there was no stopping him. It was nightfall when they reached the place and Ayaka got so thrilled upon seeing a lot of neon lights blinking in front of her eyes, it looked fantastic for her.

"Can we go in one?" Ayaka asked innocently, tugging at Sakura's coat.

"I'm sorry honey, we're not allowed in there." Sakura replied nicely. She turned to Sasuke. "Why are we here?"

"Hn."

* * *

They walked and walked and after absorbing what was happening around her, Sakura realized why Sasuke brought them there. It was February and ice-sculptors were working and adding finishing touches to their ice sculptures for Sapporo's Snow Festival which is going to be held that month, how could she forget? She sighed, disappointed at herself.

"Again, you planned this ahead of time. Damn it." Sakura said, walking beside Sasuke. She felt like Sasuke was controlling this trip after all while he just smirked. Sakura kept on getting surprises from him.

"Papa, what are they doing?" Ayaka asked, tugging onto Sasuke's hand while pointing at a man carving a swan on the ice.

"They're carving on ice." Sasuke said lamely and truthfully, describing what they're really doing. Sakura snorted and butted in, she couldn't let him ruin this for Ayaka.

"They're making magic, honey." Sakura's eyes glimmered as she said it and so did Ayaka's. Sasuke shook his head in disbelief.

_'Girls.' _He thought. "You're infecting her with your wishful fantasies." Sasuke said. Sakura rolled her eyes at him.

"She's just a little girl, let her indulge in it." Sakura said, looking at Ayaka who was observing and admiring some of the little snow artworks.

"I assume that you've been telling her all about those 'prince charming' things." Sasuke said, his tone was accusing and amused. Sakura glared at him.

"So what if I do?" Sakura retorted. _'He'll definitely fail as a father, so full of facts. It's uninteresting.' _Sakura thought, snickering.

"Where's yours then?" Sasuke asked suddenly, looking over at her. Sakura looked at him questioningly, "Prince Charming." Sasuke said, wanting to throw up as he did so. Sakura smiled.

"He's…" Sakura started. "…somewhere." She ended. Sasuke was surprised that she did not say that it was Naruto, so he smirked.

"I got stuck in traffic." Sasuke said, hinting that he was her _'prince charming' _**[throws up]**. Sakura realized what he was playing at, she smiled regretfully.

"A traffic that took you six years to escape from." Sakura said, her voice low and in a sad tone. Sasuke glanced at her.

_'At least I got out of it.' _was what he wanted to say, but his boastful self got better of him. "So it _is _me after all." He smirked. Sakura snorted.

"Get a life Sasuke." She said, grabbing Ayaka's hand and walking away with her. Sasuke smiled for a bit and followed them.

* * *

They were walking a lot when Ayaka stopped and tugged at both of her parents' hands. They looked at her. They were attracting a lot of stares from the crowd, the crowd found them cute and a perfect family; they were so wrong.

"Cold…hungry…steak?" Ayaka said cutely. Sakura shook her head.

"I know something better." She said.

They entered a ramen shop. Of course, Sapporo Ramen was popular in Sapporo, tourist or not. It made up for the cold weather that is usually felt throughout the prefecture. When they entered the ramen house, Ayaka's stomach immediately began to make angry noises.

"Ramen!" Ayaka squealed. Sakura laughed while Sasuke ordered them 3 big bowls of ramen. Their orders arrived in a matter of minutes.

"Careful, it's hot." Sakura warned Ayaka. Ayaka laughed and took a sip.

"Oishii!" Ayaka squealed again. "Na-chan loves this!" She commented. Sakura choked on her food.

_'Right. Naruto, I've completely forgotten about him.' _She thought. A lot has happened in the past three days and she definitely enjoyed her time with her family, _both _of her families. Sasuke saw the look in Sakura's eyes.

"Worried." Sasuke stated.

"Of course." Sakura said, even though her worries were now easily swept away, unlike before. _'I guess..I really..' _She did not continue that thought, she shook her head and got back to eating.

"We're going to Norubesa tomorrow." Sasuke suddenly said. Sakura looked at him and her worries were gone in an instant.

"Really?" Sakura said happily. It has been years since she last rode the Norubesa, that big Ferris wheel is something that a person should not miss. Since she moved to Tokyo, she hasn't been back to ride it yet.

"What's that?" Ayaka asked, her mouth full of noodles.

"You'll see." Sasuke said to her with a smile.

"Wait. It's our fourth day tomorrow, how long are we staying here? And what about the meeting with Hiroshi-san?" Sakura asked, despite of herself. She didn't want to go back to work after her vacation, but she had no choice, it was still a business trip after all.

"That's on Friday. We'll head back on Saturday morning." Sasuke explained.

It was like there was a party inside Sakura's head, another two days of office break, it made her unexplainably happy. They finished eating and after taking a few more walks around Susukino [but carefully avoiding all the bars], they headed back home to take a good night sleep.

* * *

They didn't leave the next day until it was almost night fall, Sakura's parents were surprised by this. They usually leave first thing in the morning.

"Where are you going?" Mr. Haruno asked. It was Sakura who answered.

"To Norubesa." She said excitedly, she was much more excited than Ayaka and her mother noticed this.

"Well, enjoy." Her mother said. The three of them bid her parents goodbye and they walked out, braving the cold. Her mother was smiling broadly.

"What is that smile on your face?" Mr. Haruno asked.

"That man really knows everything that could make our daughter happy." She replied, admiring Sasuke's effort. She knew she shouldn't be taking sides, but even she was reeled in by his charm.

"You think so?" Her husband asked.

"Of course. He was the first one to call me, remember that phone call a week ago? He asked me how to get here and then two days ago, he reserved a ticket in advance for a ride in the Norubesa. Now that is what you call sweet." Mrs. Haruno explained. Her husband frowned.

"I thought you didn't know that they were coming home." He told her, surprised.

"Well, I didn't think he was serious, but here they are now." She laughed. "I guess he really loves her."

"As much as I hate to say it, he does. After all, he endured a lot of things and decided against his will a lot just to come back here for her." Sakura's father said, admiration seeping out of him.

"I wonder what they're going to do now, with Naruto and Sasuke's wife." Mrs. Haruno said. Mr. Haruno shrugged.

"They should give it up, they're both married." He said, his wife frowned at him. Mrs. Haruno knew that Sakura was happy with Naruto but she also knew that Sakura still loves Sasuke deep in her heart. "I'm glad we're not in their generation; life and love nowadays are too complicated." He sighed.

"True." She replied.

* * *

The three of them went to the Norubesa and Sakura couldn't hide her excitement as they neared the place. Sasuke presented their ticket and proceeded to enter the big wheel. Ayaka, on the other hand, was holding onto Sasuke's hand very tightly.

"Are you afraid of heights?" He asked her. Ayaka nodded, her eyes tightly closed. Sasuke smiled. "Look at Mama. She's not afraid."

"But that's Mama! I'm Ayaka." Ayaka whined, well she's got a point. Sasuke placed her on his lap.

"You'll sit on Papa's lap then." He said. "Open your eyes." He ended. Ayaka reluctantly opened her eyes.

"Mama, are you okay?" Ayaka asked. Sakura was being weird; she was smiling idiotically, very much like the Sakura before. Sasuke snapped his hands in front of her.

"Get back in here." Sasuke said, referring to her thoughts and her whole soul which seems like it was flying outside the wheel. Sakura blinked, still smiling. She jumped next to Sasuke and surprisingly, hugged him tight.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! It's like when I was a kid." Sakura said and she started babbling.

Ayaka listened to Sakura's story, her fear ebbing away. Sasuke was just watching them, he knew that this would work. They were halfway to the top when Sakura noticed that the lightings were changed and a light show was put on.

_'So that's why he didn't plan on going yesterday, it was because there was a light show today.' _Sakura thought. Norubesa was also in the area near Susukino and she wondered all night why he didn't take them there the night before.

"Wow…" Ayaka said, disturbing Sakura's thoughts. There was a fireworks display too. Ayaka was now looking outside and leaning on the window, her fear completely gone.

"You planned this. Again. Why do you keep on doing that?" Sakura asked with a big smile, now she's not irritated about it like before.

"Hn." Sasuke replied.

Sakura was so overwhelmed and touched that she just didn't know what to do. She just turned to him and quickly planted a kiss on his cheek. Sasuke was surprised, but still kept his cool. Sakura, however, was blushing furiously.

"Thank you." She said before turning away and joining her daughter who was still obsessing with the lights.

Her thoughts, however, was not on the light show. Her thoughts were glued on Sasuke; it felt like they were back to being the couple that they were before, only now, with their daughter. It felt like _she _was back into the Sakura who was so deeply and immensely in love with Sasuke. She smiled at the thought before getting her attention back to the display.

_'Just a little bit more.' _Sasuke told himself, satisfied at the results he was earning. He deserved this, he deserved to have her back.

* * *

**A/N: Sweet. Yes? No? haha. I swear, I think I know Japan so well right now even though I haven't been there yet. I really did a lot of research just to write this FF, that seriously breaks my record. Haha. I'm trying to be factual, you see, and at the same time fictional. ^_^ hohoho. Well..I'll try to update early. I don't know what to write next..needing inspiration. ^_^ Bye! Reviews please!**

***edit* sorry. I put in -five- years above..it should've been six. Thanks for pointing that one out _WhiteRose95_. Well, maybe now you're thinking that Ayaka should still be 5 years old..I'm going to explain that next chapter..maybe? I'll think of something to make this work out. lol. haha.**

* * *

**March 1, 2011 [Tuesday; 9:44 p.m.]**

**Philippines**


	11. Choice 11: Karin

**A/N: Great! I thought I won't be able to finish this chapter for a week. Thankfully, I did. Haha. And I mentioned last time that the years got messed up [Ayaka is 6 years old and I said at the 1st chapter that Sasuke's been gone for 6 years]. It'll be explained here in this chapter. lol. Tried my best to make it all work. Here you go. Chapter 11. [oh. and is the title disturbing? hahaha.]**

**Disclaimer: Weeeeeeee!**

* * *

**Choice # 11: Karin**

* * *

First thing next morning, Sakura and Sasuke took off towards one of the shopping centers in Sapporo that focuses on fashion, the Paseo Shopping Center. Sakura immediately contacted Mr. Hiroshi's staff and told them that Yamanaka fashion's marketing executive is coming. It seems that she was trying to forget the stuff she thought and did the night before.

"Very high pitched." Sakura commented when she clicked her phone off. Sasuke looked at her.

"What?" He asked. Sakura shrugged.

"Mr. Hiroshi's secretary."

* * *

They arrived at the shopping center and were ushered towards one of its offices. Upon entering, Sakura heard the familiar voice of the secretary calling Sasuke's name.

"Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura looked for the owner of the voice while Sasuke just stood there, not caring. Suddenly, a whip of red and yellow passed by and clasped itself on Sasuke. Sakura's eyes widened.

"Karin." Sasuke acknowledged the woman that has practically glued herself on him. Sakura tried not to frown.

"Mouuu..Sasuke-kun, stop being so cold." Karin said as she pulled away, her fingers playing on his chest. Sakura twitched a little. "They said you were coming, so I especially wore this."

Karin was flaunting her Chinese traditional dress. It was a flirtatious red in color that has yellow flowery details on the side, accenting her red eyes and as well as her red hair which were neatly tied up in two buns, the dress reached up just above her thighs. Sakura stared, Karin was really sexy. Her eyes landed on Karin's breasts and in turn, she looked down on hers. Sakura had never felt so inferior in her whole life.

_'I'm surprised she's not getting chills.' _Sakura thought because wearing that kind of dress in a cold weather is stupid.

"Where's Hiroshi?" Sasuke asked, pushing Karin away. Karin pouted at him for ignoring her efforts in dressing up but nonetheless replied to his question.

"He won't be meeting you today. Our marketing executive will meet you though." Karin said, clinging onto Sasuke's arm like a leech.

"Uhm, where is he?" Sakura successfully managed to say, announcing her presence in the room. Karin took notice of her and looked up and down her body, as if examining her.

"Oh, there's a girl." She said rudely, Sakura frowned. "Sorry, he'll be out in a moment." Karin said, letting go of Sasuke and entering a room. Sakura stood beside Sasuke, she was glaring at Karin's back.

"Jealous." Sasuke whispered simply, sensing the angry aura that Sakura was emitting. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"So not." She whispered back, but she knew she was lying. She hated seeing Sasuke with his wife, so it's natural for her to hate it more seeing him with a whor—oops— another girl.

It was not long after that when Karin appeared again, this time with a pale man behind her. Sakura and Sasuke just observed. Karin was the one to introduce him.

"This is Sai, our marketing executive; you'll have the meeting with him." Karin said with a smile. Sasuke nodded at Sai.

"Let's go?" Sai said, ushering Sasuke inside the office. Karin was about to follow when Sasuke turned to Sakura.

"Keep her at bay." Sasuke ordered, not wanting to be disturbed by the leech —I mean— woman in his meeting. Sakura nodded.

"Care to have a drink?" Sakura asked. Karin looked at her from top to bottom again, frowned and then smiled.

"Sure."

* * *

They went to a coffee shop that was serving expensive coffee and English tea. They talked about a lot of stuff and Sakura was told that Karin was Sai's secretary, not Mr. Hiroshi. Karin was elegantly sipping her drink and as she put it down, a glint passed her eyes.

"So, how close are you with him? Considering you're his secretary, if you know what I mean." Karin said with a wink. Sakura looked at her and she immediately knew what she was talking about.

"I'm just his secretary." She said firmly. Why does everybody think that there's something going on between her and Sasuke? **[A/N: Because there is. ^_^]**

"Oh come on, surely you don't mean that!" Karin said, not believing Sakura, but when Sakura gave her a cold look, she knew that Sakura was not kidding. "You seriously don't know what you're missing. It's great to be close to him." She said, taking another sip of her coffee.

"How so?" Sakura asked, taking a sip of her coffee too and trying to sound casual.

"You get a lot of….benefits." Karin giggled as she bit her lower lip. Sakura almost choked on her coffee when she saw Karin's expression.

"Benefits?" She asked, still trying her best to sound casual. She was fighting the urge to rip Karin's head off. Karin nodded at her question.

"Yes. But I really hoped it was sexual because damn it, he's _hot._" Karin said, her eyes diluted and in a dreamy state. "Unfortunately, it was not." Karin started. Sakura, on the other hand, felt relieved. "You'll just know a bit of secrets..and probably a glimpse of his past." She ended. Sakura was now interested.

"Secrets? Past?" Sakura asked, she had an idea about his past but the secrets; she wanted to know that.

"Don't tell him that I told you. He can be a real talker when he's drunk and he does a _lot_ of things." Karin said with a wink.

_'I know that thank you very much.' _Sakura thought as she previously experienced a drunken Sasuke and he, indeed, talked so much and he _does _do a lot of things. "Okay, so?" She asked, trying to get back to the topic.

"Did you know that he bites?" Karin giggled as she tried to recall Sasuke's bite. Sakura flinched at what she said.

_'He bites other girls too?' _She thought, forming a fist. She stood up, "I'm out of here." She said, but Karin's hand grabbed her wrist, she was laughing.

"Okay, I'm sorry." Karin said. Sakura started to sit down again when she heard Karin say, "But really, I practically had an orgasm with just one bite." Karin laughed out loud, not caring if the other customers hears her since they're used to her talking like this. Sakura's eyes were now fiery.

"Ugh. Out of here." She said again, standing up and trying to walk away. Karin just laughed.

"Sorry, sorry. Okay. Here it is. He told me that before he went to the States, he had this girl. I guess he really loved the girl because it seems like he remembers everything they shared." Karin recounted. Sakura listened intently. "And he left her."

"Why am I not surprised?" Sakura said sarcastically, she knew the story very well. Karin continued, ignoring her comment.

"He left her without a word, no, more like vanished after a _-steamy, hot night- _that's what he said." Karin said,

Sakura's sweat dropped. _'He describes it to others?' _She thought.

"God, how I envy that girl, it was because of her that he doesn't dare shag anyone else." Karin pouted in frustration. Sakura, however, was feeling a bit touched.

_'So he's not having sex with just anyone. One point for you Sasuke.' _She thought with a smile. "Why did she leave her though? I mean, why did he suddenly vanish?" Sakura asked, trying to find out the real answer on why Sasuke left her.

"I heard his brother, I think Itachi was his name, did something that made him leave her." Karin said, trying to think deeply and remember the story.

"Really? Did he say what?" Sakura asked. So, Itachi was the reason why Sasuke left her. It all fits since Itachi never did like her in the first place, but what confused her is why Sasuke didn't rebel against it.

"No, he fell asleep. It's a cliffhanger actually, I planned to get him drunk again after that but he avoided me. Since we saw each other now, I'll try to get him drunk, sooner or later, to hear the rest of the story." Karin laughed. Sakura had a '_eureka' _moment. She grabbed Karin's hand and smiled at her.

"Karin, let's get him drunk. I want to hear the story too." Sakura said, she definitely wanted to hear the rest of this story. He never wanted to tell her, so she's going to find out for herself. Karin thought it was a brilliant idea, now that Sasuke's secretary is involved, it'll be much easier.

"Wow. Okay then, I guarantee you that we'll get half of the story." Karin said. "And maybe even do something more." Karin said with her flirtatious giggle and wink. Sakura didn't like the last part.

"Please don't do that." Sakura said, her phone vibrating. It was a text message from Sasuke. "We need to go; they're finished with the meeting."

* * *

The meeting was successful, just what the girls needed to make an excuse to celebrate that night. Sakura phoned home and told her parents that she was probably not going to make it home that night. Her mother told her that it was fine. She arranged a hotel room, just in case they really couldn't make it home.

"Sasuke, I invited Sai and Karin for a little drink tonight, just to show my thanks in behalf of the company." Sakura said, half-truthfully. Sasuke stared at her for a long time.

"What are you up to?"

"Is there suppose to be a reason for drinking?" Sakura retorted. "Tell me if you don't want to, I'll cancel it immediately." She said to avoid detection.

"Hn." He said, walking away.

"I'll take that as a yes then!" Sakura called out to him.

* * *

The day passed by quickly because they were doing a lot of walking and exploring, not minding the snow. Before they knew it, it was already night time and the two of them were heading to a bar that was for higher-class people. They had private rooms and Sakura especially picked this because it was close enough to the hotel that she rented a room in. They arrived and saw that Sai and Karin were already there, drinking to their hearts content.

"Sasuke-kun! Come on, let's drink!"

Sakura was pulling an annoyed Sasuke with her inside towards Sai and Karin. Karin was openly flirting with Sai who just smiled at her, though his eyes were cold and very much like Sasuke's.

_'So, she's got a thing with these types of guys.' _Sakura thought, looking from Sasuke to Sai; they're very similar. "Sorry we're late." Sakura apologized.

"It's fine Haruno-san." Sai surprisingly replied. He offered her a drink. "Care to have one?"

"Thank you." Sakura said, taking the glass and drinking it in one go. Sasuke stared at her interestingly.

"You're up to something." Sasuke whispered to her. Sakura tried to not look guilty. She looked at him and gave him a glare.

"Could you please stop accusing me and just drink?" She retorted.

And so they did drink the night away. Sakura tried to make it seem that she's been drinking a lot, but in reality, she was watching Karin urging Sasuke to tell her the story. Sakura tried to talk with Sai while constantly peering over and listening to Sasuke and Karin's conversation.

"Sasuke-kun…tell me the other part of your story…please? I promise I won't tell anyone." Karin said drunkenly, raising her right hand up to swear before it plummeted down on her side. She was feeling really very tipsy already. Sasuke gave her a grunt.

"Get off." Sasuke said, trying to get away from her leech-like grasp. Karin moaned as his hands brushed against her front.

"Not until you tell me what made you leave your girl." Karin whispered in his ear. Sasuke pushed her face away.

"I told you it was Itachi." Sasuke said coldly. Karin pouted.

"What did he do?" Karin asked.

"Why do you want to know?" He asked back. Karin will not back down, she glued herself to him and it annoyed him more. "Ugh. Fine. He told me that if I don't leave her, he'll think of a way to get her expelled." He said simply, drinking more beer.

"Ohh. So you left. Did you try to rebel?"

"Of course I did, I got beaten up and was taken away by force."

"Did you try to get back to her though?"

"Every year. My first attempt, he told me that he'll hire people to hunt her down. Second, is that he knows where she works and he'll get her fired. All the other attempts were like that, always with a threat." Sasuke said. He knew he was babbling a lot, which is so not like him.

"So, what now? You're back in Japan, have you seen her?" Karin asked, amazed at Sasuke's dedication to the girl. "Did you tell her about all this?"

Sasuke smirked. "She just heard it all." Karin looked at him, confused. And in one quick motion, Sasuke and Sakura were out the door and going straight to their hotel room.

"They're crazy." Karin mumbled, realizing that the girl was Sakura after all. She turned her attention to Sai. "Boss, do you mind if I start to glue myself on you?" Karin asked. Sai just shook his head.

* * *

Sakura slammed the door shut without bothering to open the lights. The only light in the room was a lamp light on the bed side table. She was glaring at Sasuke and Sasuke was just looking at her in a bored way. She stomped over to him and stopped in front of him.

_***SLAP* *SLAP***_

She slapped him twice, one on both cheeks. His face was stinging but he never showed any sign of pain because his hair just covered his eyes. Sakura's eyes, however, were brimming with tears.

"Why didn't you tell me that it wasn't your fault? You didn't have a plan on telling me, didn't you?" Sakura almost screamed, good thing that the rooms in the hotel are sound proof.

"Hn." Sasuke replied, walking towards the bed. Sakura grabbed his wrist firmly.

"I wouldn't have known if you weren't drunk." Sakura said quietly. Sasuke smirked and looked back.

"I'm not drunk." He said, turning his hand and now grabbing her wrist. Sakura looked straight at him, wide-eyed.

"Then why did yo—?"

"I just thought I had to." Sasuke said, cutting her question. He let her go and shrugged. "I knew you were up to something and I figured that it was probably this since Karin talked to you."

"You were gone for six years! No, make that seven since you just vanished after the night we spent together! You never really explained that. My friends said you were still in Japan, so why didn't you try to contact me?" Sakura asked, wanting to know and starting from the first thing she had in mind.

"I was in Japan. He locked me in the house and refused to let me see you." Sasuke told her calmly. He figured that he'll have to be honest from this point on.

"He locked you for a year? That's ridiculous. You were in Japan when Ayaka turned 1, weren't you?" Sakura told him accusingly. Sasuke frowned at this.

"I told you before right? You didn't tell me that I had a daughter. That was the reason why I was angry the day I saw you again." Sasuke explained. Sakura laughed sarcastically.

"I told you that I couldn't tell you because you'll die of sudden heart attack, right?" Sakura said, telling him exactly what she told him the day they met again. "I didn't mail you but that doesn't mean that my friends didn't try." Sakura said truthfully. Sasuke grunted, so Itachi had also tampered with his mails before.

"That son of a b—" He started, but before he could finish his sentence, Sakura cut him off.

"You said Itachi wanted me expelled. Why didn't you just let him?" Sakura asked straightforwardly and a little loudly. She wanted to know about Itachi and about what really happened, so she decided to drop the first subject. Sasuke grunted again, should he really be explaining this?

"You were graduating; your parents' money will go to waste when you get expelled for no apparent reason." Sasuke said simply, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"You said that he wanted to hunt me down."

"I couldn't risk your life, and it proved to be a right decision since you had a child."

"You said he was going to find a way to get me unemployed."

"He had every power to do so at that time, not just fire you, but prevent you from having a job anywhere else. That's not good right? You had to raise Ayaka alone for 6 years."

"What about Ino then? Why did you marry her?" Sakura asked, now her voice lowered. She wanted to know, if he did everything he could to get back to her, why marry someone else in the end? Somehow, this brought a little smile on Sasuke's face; he knew that Sakura was affected by him marrying Ino from the start.

"I needed to get back to Japan and she was the only way. I agreed to marry her because I knew she would want to stay here." Sasuke explained a bit truthfully. He did not elaborate about the deal that he had with Itachi.

"Why do you care about her then?"

"If I hurt her then that means I'll be hurting you. You remember when Itachi fired you? It was because Ino was frustrated at me for—"

"But why are you with me now, if you don't want me to feel Itachi's wrath?"

"Damn it, woman! How many questions are you going to ask?" Sasuke said in a frustrated tone, running a hand through his raven hair. He looked up and got greeted by another slap on his face, Sakura's eyes were fixed on him, and it was still flaring with anger.

"I hate you!" She said fiercely and full of emotions. Without warning, her whole body crashed on top of him, making him fall back onto the bed and making him feel everything there was to feel.

Sasuke was surprised as he felt her soft, hot lips on his, taking the lead. Sakura was sobbing while kissing him, _fiercely_, like she never kissed him before. She hated him; she hated him for not telling her everything he'd been through but she hated herself more for bearing a grudge on him for the past seven years that he was gone. Sasuke was not complaining though, he knew that she loved him still, but he's going to wait until she says so herself. Or not. When the need for air was felt, both of them reluctantly pulled away, lips numb from the sudden intense make-out session.

"I hate you, do you know that?" a panting Sakura softly said, biting her lower lip as she catches up with her breath. Sasuke was panting too, he smirked, his hands wrapped around Sakura's body.

"But you still love me don't you?" He said with a boastful tone. Sakura made a frustrated sound, hitting Sasuke squarely on the chest over and over again.

"Damn it! _Damn it! _That is just unfair! Do you know how much effort it took me to try and move on? And then this happens!" Sakura said, burying her face on his chest.

Sasuke felt her wet tears touch the fabric of his clothes. He quickly turned them over so that he was now on top of her. She was covering her face; Sasuke realized she was blushing madly. He smirked as he neared his lips to her ears.

"I want you to say it." Sasuke whispered to her. Sakura shuddered and shook her head violently. Sasuke smirked. "Come on." He said, another 'no' came from Sakura. She was determined not to admit defeat, even though she already did admit it by her actions. Sasuke motioned to stand. "I'm leaving you here." He said seriously. He started to withdraw when Sakura grabbed his collar.

"Fine! I still love you, okay?" Sakura said furiously, pulling him down and kissing him again. He practically shoved his tongue down her throat which left them panting when they broke off, Sasuke just gave her a smirk.

"Desperate isn't cute Sakura." He commented proudly. He knew he had her back and he's not going to let her go again, but he just can't help himself. It's fun to tease and mock Haruno Sakura if you're Uchiha Sasuke.

"I hate you. I hate you. I hate you." She chanted over and over again. "You always frustrate me into telling you what you want to hear." She said in a defeated tone. Sasuke shrugged, his hands finding its way on her body. "Ah!" Sakura reacted as he reached a certain spot.

"Sensitive, aren't we?" Sasuke whispered, biting her earlobe that made her shiver. It's not good on Sakura's part that Sasuke drunk alcohol that night, even though he's not really drunk but he's still going to be out of control.

_'Damn, he knows all of my weak spots.' _She thought. She felt his bite, now on her neck and she remembered something. "You bite a lot, don't you? Even Karin." Sakura accused him.

"She told you?" Sasuke started. "I bit her arm because she was mercilessly clinging onto me, I didn't know it aroused her though. It was disgusting." He said, not tearing his lips away from Sakura's skin. It tickled her when he talked. "I knew you were jealous." He sneered.

"At first." Sakura said, then she chuckled. "But then I realized she was ugly." She ended. Sasuke let out a low laugh.

"She's average-looking." Sasuke said, teasing her still. Sakura rolled her eyes. Sasuke was finding it very difficult to tear away Sakura's clothes since she was wearing so much. "Damn, is it that cold?" He groaned, struggling to remove her coat and everything that came along with it.

"It is. I'm _surprised_ you're not wearing _this_ much yourself." Sakura said, she too, was pulling off Sasuke's clothing, but her job was much easier since he was only wearing a coat and a white, buttoned up shirt underneath.

"I _wish_ you're not wearing _this_ much." He grunted. A thought passed his brilliantly perverted mind. "You should've brought that Santa costume with you." Sasuke told her, his underpants getting tighter every second, especially as he thought about the Christmas party costume that she had.

"Fuck you to hell, Sasuke." She said with a laugh. Sasuke smirked though.

"Gladly." He replied. "I'll make that heaven though if I were you." He said. Sakura stopped him though.

"What about Itachi?" She asked, suddenly bothered. If news get to him, they'll both be dead, especially Sasuke. She will not forgive herself if all his efforts go to waste just because they're _probably _back together. He groaned.

"Screw Itachi." He said. "I'll deal with him later, right now, all I want is this." He said, his hands groping a part of her body that was begging to be groped. She moaned at his touch. He smirked before proceeding in tearing all their clothes off and doing stuff that I'm not allowed to write in a rated T fanfiction.

* * *

**A/N: HAHAHA. Well, it's not like I hate Karin or anything..she's actually pretty cool. haha. Oh, please don't kill me if you happen to hate Karin. LOL. I would've loved to write a detailed version of this chapter but since this is a rated T FF, I can't. hahaha. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**PS, I'm stuck right now, really. I don't know how I'll reveal Itachi's secret...sigh. :(**

* * *

**March 09, 2011 [Wednesday; 9:21 p.m.]**

**Philippines**


	12. Choice 12: The Choice Was Made

**A/N: OH MY GODDDDD! It's been more than a month since my last update. _*cue Super Junior's 'Sorry Sorry'*_ I'm soooo sorrrrry dear readers! It's been hell for me last month because of school and I think this will go on for this month and on May as well. I'll try to write something as soon as I can. Damn college is killing me. I hope you guys are still there and waiting for my updates though. :) LOL. So, without further ado, here's chapter 12.**

**Disclaimer: I won't be dying in college right now if I own the characters.**

* * *

**Choice # 12: The Choice Was Made**

* * *

Sakura woke up that morning, her body feeling very heavy and exhausted. She sighed, but she remembered every detail of what happened the night before. Sasuke did all those things for her sake and there she was, holding a grudge on him when he left even though none of it was really his fault. She turned sideways and was greeted by Sasuke's chest. She snaked her arms around him and hugged him close.

"Sasuke.." Sakura started. Sasuke groaned, turning his back on her. He was exhausted too after a whole night of love making. "Sasuke.." Sakura tried again, but he ignored her which resulted to her hitting him hard on the back.

"Oi!" Sasuke groaned in pain. Sakura rolled her eyes on him.

"You were ignoring me." Sakura told him, but Sasuke was still ignoring her. He was groaning in pain from the hit that he received on his back. "Hey, that was just a little slap." Sakura said, now feeling a little bad and worried.

"Look." Sasuke simply said, pointing at his back. Sakura noticed that his back were full of red marks. "You were clawing me last night and now you're hitting me. Ugh." He grunted.

"Sorry." Sakura said, feeling a little idiotic. Sasuke turned around to face her, Sakura smiled. "Good morning." She greeted, giving him a light kiss on the lips.

It's official. They were back together and Sakura was acting her usual self in front of him. She was in love with him like this before and now, it's back. She felt happiness run through her whole being and she instantly knew that she never really did forget about Sasuke. If they could just stay like that, all happy and in love with no problems then everything would be fine.

"Hn." Sasuke replied, grabbing her neck and kissing her deeply. He will never settle for light kisses. After what seemed like forever for Sakura, Sasuke pulled away with a proud smirk plastered on his face.

"That…was supposed to be...a morning kiss?" Sakura asked, catching her breath. Sasuke shrugged then hugged her which was very unusual for him to do. Sakura buried her face in his chest, she's not complaining, not one bit.

"What are we going to do though?" Sakura asked, suddenly nervous about everything that will happen. She wanted to stay happy even just for a day, but she can't deny that she's still bothered about Itachi and she just can't ignore that.

"Stay here." Sasuke said seriously. He practically ignored her worried question.

Sakura pulled away from him and gave him a death glare. She stood up and put on the nearest piece of clothing she could grab on her which was Sasuke's white shirt, she buttoned it up but left two buttons at the top open.

"No, _seriously_. What are we going to do?" She asked. It was fine if she was the only one involved, but there were Naruto, Ayaka and Ino. "Sasuke." Sakura said in a low growl as she saw Sasuke just staring at her.

Who wouldn't? Sakura's hair was a mess and she was wearing Sasuke's shirt that reached just below her buttocks. She left two buttons open at the top which showed him just the right amount of breasts. Anyone who can see her at this state will immediately know what they had been doing the night before.

"What?"

"I asked, what are we going to do?"

"Nothing."

"That's not an answer!"

Sakura was becoming more worried -_and annoyed- _by the second. She sat down on one of the room chairs and crossed her legs, giving Sasuke a perfect view of what was underneath that white shirt. Sasuke couldn't help but stare a bit more.

_'Those thighs and legs should really get back to bed.' _He thought, melting her with his stare. Sakura saw this and shook her head in disappointment. She clapped her hand loudly in front of Sasuke to pull him out of his erotic state of mind.

"Can you please focus on something else other than my legs? Like, for example, how are we going to tell our respective partners?" Sakura asked.

"You tell yours, I'll tell mine." He said simply, leaning back, his hands on the bed supporting his body.

"That's not exactly easy, is it? Well, for you it is, I guess." Sakura frowned, thinking that Ino would probably let it go, seeing that she's crazy about him and all that. "Naruto's probably going to throw a fit." She said, but a thought struck her and she froze. "He's going to beat you up..." She said in a quiet voice.

"Ah." Sasuke said simply. He doesn't care, he can take him on. Sakura was not finished though, another thought came to her mind that made her shudder. She looked worriedly at Sasuke. Sasuke stared back at her, knowing that something was bothering her. "What?" He asked.

"...Or me." She ended her previous sentence. If Sakura tells Naruto, the result would be either one of the two. Now Sasuke was a bit worried and his face turned serious.

"If he even tries to..." Sasuke started but Sakura stood up and sat beside him, placing a hand over his. Sasuke stared at her, wondering why she's quiet all of a sudden.

"No. You can't hurt him. I already did so much damage." She said quietly, feeling bad for Naruto and at the same time scared of what he might do. He had always loved her but that doesn't mean that his sanity will stay the same once he comes to know that she betrayed him. Sasuke pulled Sakura into a hug.

"Don't worry about it." Sasuke replied. He pulled away and stared at the alluring sight in front of him, a glint passed his eyes. Sakura saw this, she quickly stood up and walked towards the couch as far away from Sasuke as possible.

"We need to leave, _right now._" Sakura told him fiercely, but who can ever stop Sasuke in what he was thinking? He smirked.

"You really need to get back to bed, _**right now.**_" Sasuke replied, not taking his eyes off of her. She's all his now and he missed her, that and the fact that he currently have a raging hard-on. Sakura shook her head.

"No. Ayaka's waiting at—" She was cut off when Sasuke stood up, grabbed her wrist and threw her to bed. Sakura screamed. "Stop playing around!" She said, stifling her laughter. Sasuke smirked.

"Breakfast in bed." He stated as he pressed his hungry lips and body on hers. Sakura smiled in between the kiss, forgetting all the troubles even just for a little while more.

* * *

Naruto was at Hinata's house, even though he told himself that he can handle it, in the end, he couldn't. Hinata brought over some tea for them to drink. She knew what was wrong and she appreciated it very much that he went to her for a talk. Naruto stared at Hinata just as she sat down, she blushed.

"You're her best friend. Do you think she'll leave me?" Naruto asked helplessly. Hinata wanted to cry for him, seeing his vulnerable side. Hinata knew that being honest will just only hurt him more.

"No, she won't. Don't worry." Hinata replied silently. She didn't want to believe that Sakura will leave Naruto to get back together with Sasuke, but seeing the current situation, that's the most probable thing to happen.

"You know I love her so much. She loves me back, right?" He asked again, burying his face in his hands like trying to fight a really bad head ache. Hinata sighed as she inched closer to Naruto, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Loving someone so much does not guarantee that they will love you as much you know." Hinata said, her words of wisdom coming out of her. She knew this so well that it also hurts her. Naruto looked up at her.

"But still, she picked me right? That's a good thing." He said, trying to reason it out. He knew what will happen sooner or later but he did not choose to believe it.

"What if...I'm saying _if_...she chooses Sasuke? What will you do Naruto?" Hinata asked quietly. It's the first time they talked this seriously, usually she'll pass out. Naruto buried his head in his hands again. There was a long pause before he answered.

"She can't. I'll make her happy, so happy that she'll never choose to leave." Naruto replied. He wanted to be with her, so bad. Hinata were fighting back the tears that were now forming in her eyes, she couldn't believe that this man in front of him is still thinking about Sakura's happiness and not his own.

"You're making her happy, but do you see yourself right now?" Hinata said in a completely different voice. "You're miserable, Naruto, because deep inside, you know that she'll choose him, right?" Hinata stated. Naruto shuddered and she realized he was crying. Hinata slowly went to hug him.

"What should I do?" Naruto asked, feeling miserable every second. Hinata shook her head.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure she won't leave you." Hinata said, despite of wanting to keep Naruto with her, she knew that he'll be much happier with Sakura. She was just the same as him, wanting to make him happy even though she's miserable. Naruto looked up at her with his teary eyes.

"Thank you." He said quietly. Hinata nodded and continued to calm him down.

* * *

"You had the right to know Ino."

Ino stayed silent, she didn't know what to do or who to run to. She had no idea that Sasuke went to a _business trip _with Sakura at Hokkaido. She wasn't there when they planned it because the year just started and she was so busy. She knew that Sasuke didn't love her, but what she didn't know is that it was because of Sakura.

"You told me that Sakura was his girlfriend before?" Ino started out quietly, trying to process everything she heard.

"Yes. And they had a daughter who resembles Sasuke so much."

Ino thought hard and remembered that particular day when Sasuke was nicely talking to a little girl.

'_Naruto was with the girl so that must mean that Sasuke was talking to his daughter that day and he didn't tell me about it.'_ She thought. "Shikamaru, thank you for telling me." She told her friend.

Shikamaru shook his head, he couldn't bear to see Ino getting hurt this badly. She needed companion because her own husband doesn't even love her.

"Ino. You seriously have to clear things up with that bastard." Shikamaru said fiercely. Ino winced. She knew Shikamaru was right, she was being weak and it doesn't apply to her at all.

"When are they coming back?" She asked.

"Tonight." He told her truthfully. He was, after all, Sakura's friend, so he knew when they'll get back.

"Thank you." Ino told Shikamaru. She was friends with him for a long time and she knew he can be trusted. She opted to leave but Shikamaru held her hand.

"You have me Ino, remember that." Shikamaru said. Ino smiled, nodded then walked away.

* * *

While their respective partners are having trouble with their lives, the two leads of this fanfiction just had a blast of another round of their _breakfast in bed_.

"Sasuke, we seriously need to go. Get off me." Sakura said, trying to wriggle away from his grasp. Sasuke was strong though and he was not intending to let her go. Sakura was getting annoyed so she pushed him off of her, more like kicked him off. Sasuke groaned in pain.

"Let's just go tomorrow." Sasuke said, not getting up from bed. He's being a spoiled brat again and Sakura was ignoring him. She was getting dressed, ready to leave. Sakura kept ignoring Sasuke until she was finished fixing herself up. Her body felt sore in all places but she knew that that is what she'll get after being devoured _so_ _many times_ by Sasuke. Sasuke smirked. "You can pretend like you don't know me Sakura, but I've seen you naked." Sasuke teased. Sakura shot him a death glare.

"Get up." Sakura told him fiercely. Sasuke still didn't budge; this time, it was Sakura's turn to tease him. Sakura gave him a bored look. "When I step out of this room first, I'm never going to let you have sex with me again." Sakura threatened him in her most serious tone while grabbing the doorknob. Sasuke smirked at her threat.

"I waited for 6, no, _7 years_ Sakura. Try me." Sasuke said, a smug look plastered on his face. Sakura gave him a smile though, as if telling him that she was really, really serious.

"Suit yourself then. Bye, see you in Tokyo." Sakura said, turning the doorknob. Sasuke grunted. _'She's serious.' _He thought. He sighed then forfeited. Sakura smiled, her back facing him; she knew that he couldn't take that kind of threat since they're now back together and Sakura knew that he longed for her. He put on his pants and shirt and fixed his hair. He walked over to Sakura.

"Fine. Come on." He said, grabbing her hand as he led her away.

* * *

Sakura was blushing all the way home because Sasuke hadn't let go of her hand at all. It had been so long since they were like this and for some reason, she missed it. Even thought they've done more intense stuff than holding hands, this act of his still makes her giddy. They arrived at her house and Sasuke was the one who knocked on the door. Mrs. Haruno opened it, glanced down at their intertwined hands and craned her neck to look at Sakura who was blushing, she smiled.

"I thought you two weren't coming home." Mrs. Haruno said with a knowing smile. Sakura blushed in the reddest red that a person can imagine but Sasuke kept his cool. Ayaka came in view with a pout.

"Mama and Papa left me here." She cried. Sakura pulled her hand away from Sasuke and walked towards her daughter.

"Sorry Aya-chan." She said with a smile. "I've got something for you though." She added, giving her a doll of her favourite anime. Ayaka's pout was suddenly wiped away as she squealed upon receiving the present. She whisked away, playing with her new toy.

"We're leaving today Ma." Sasuke said, comfortably addressing Mrs. Haruno as 'Ma'. Sakura was surprised and so was Mrs. Haruno, but she just smiled.

"Okay. Go talk to Papa." Mrs. Haruno told him.

Now, Sakura was crumbling to the ground. What the hell was happening? They're accepting him just like that? She knew it was a good thing, but they knew that she has a husband. A sharp stab of guilt went through her as she realized that fact. Sasuke walked away towards Mr. Haruno's favourite spot in the house, the backyard. Sakura went crawling to her mother.

"Mama." She started. "What are you doing? What's happening?" Sakura asked, totally confused. Mrs. Haruno led her to the living room.

"You want to know why I'm accepting him easily?" Mrs. Haruno asked, Sakura nodded. "One thing is because you love him." Her mother said. Sakura blushed but didn't deny that fact. "The other thing is because he really tried hard and I could feel his determination." She said with a smile. Sakura frowned.

"How?"

Her mother retold the story of how Sasuke called their home to ask the details on how to get there and planned their trip ahead of time, using the business trip and relaxation excuse to make it happen. Sakura listened intently, it was really all for her; the meeting only became a coincidence. Her mother smiled at her.

"He really loves you dear." Mrs. Haruno said with an approving nod. Sakura still didn't get it.

"But, he left me. Don't you remember? Are you not even bothered by the fact that I still love him back?" She told her, trying to knock some sense into her own mother. Her mother still smiled.

"Sakura." Her mother started. "The truth is if you love someone, if you _truly love them_, no matter how bad they hurt you or how angry they made you…" She paused dramatically, Sakura rolled her eyes. "…you will always take them back." She ended with a dramatic sigh and then she smiled at Sakura. "That's one of the problems of women. It's always unfair." She laughed.

It was true, it was really unfair. All he needed to do was tell her the truth and those seven years when she believed that she hated him and will never love him again were thrown out the window. Here she was, eating her own words and thoughts.

"But Ma, are you acting in a drama or something? What's with the dramatic pause and sigh?" She laughed at her mother and Mrs. Haruno laughed back. But her mother was right, again. Sakura was just happy that there's no difficulty on her parents' side.

* * *

Sasuke sat down to have a talk with Mr. Haruno. He stayed quiet for a moment and waited for Mr. Haruno to speak first, the guy was smoking and was ignoring Sasuke, but he started to speak.

"I see your confidence has earned you something brilliant." Mr. Haruno started. Sasuke smirked.

"Yes, Haruno-san." He replied politely, he wouldn't want to start a fight with Sakura's father now, would he?

"She chose you, so I am not complaining, but if you hurt her again." Mr. Haruno said, glaring at Sasuke. "I will definitely not let you off." He ended. Sasuke nodded.

"You have my word." Sasuke said confidently. Mr. Haruno puffed out smoke before speaking again.

"How are you going to deal with the fact that you are both married?" He asked, not clearly seeing the picture.

"I already have a plan." He replied. He was lying; of course, he did not have a plan at all. His plan was to go with the flow. Mr. Haruno examined him.

"Just make sure that you do. You're both in a really big mess. Fix it up as soon as you get back." Mr. Haruno advised him. Sasuke nodded as he stood up and bowed.

"Thank you, Pa." He said, leaving him alone. Mr. Haruno smiled to himself, the boy was impressive.

* * *

Sakura, Sasuke and Ayaka bid the old couple goodbye. After a lot of hugging and crying [on Sakura and her mother's part], they left. They reached the train and boarded it. Ayaka was once again sleeping next to Sasuke, but this time, Sakura was beside him too. He was in the middle of the two most important women in his life.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" Sakura stated, her head on his shoulder and his arm around her. Sasuke smirked.

"I'm pretty sure _you_ are." He told her confidently. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"You're impossible." Sakura said with a laugh.

It was supposed to be like this from the start. If things didn't fall apart, they would have been like this for years already. She sighed, a bit sad at the lost time but happy as well, now that they're all happy together.

"I'm going straight home after this." Sakura told Sasuke.

"No." He disagreed. He didn't like the idea of letting her go back to Naruto, _alone_. Sakura sat up and looked at Sasuke.

"I need to. I need to explain to him." She said honestly. "You also need to go home and explain to Ino." She added. "Let's drop Ayaka off at Kakashi senpai's place first." She said, not wanting her daughter to be there when she talks to Naruto. Sasuke knew she had a point, he groaned.

"Hn."

They arrived at Aomori and Sasuke's car was already waiting outside the parking lot. A man drove it there and Sakura got confused, where was the car when they were away?

"I had it parked somewhere private." Sasuke said, carrying a sleeping Ayaka in his arms. Ayaka woke up and climbed in the back seat before falling asleep again.

"Why did you bring this car in the first place?" Sakura asked, sliding in the front passenger seat. Sasuke did the same too.

"I wanted to have a road trip." He said in an uncaring voice, but Sakura saw through him. She smiled.

"You wanted to have a road trip with _us._" She corrected him. It was really sweet of him to do that. Sasuke did not deny it though, he just stayed quiet.

* * *

It was almost night time when they reached Kakashi's house. Sakura convinced him into taking Ayaka in for the day. Ayaka, being close to Kakashi, was happy to do so. She's pretty much happy anywhere because she became used to it when her mother was working. Sasuke and Sakura left, she was nervous and fidgeting a lot.

"You don't have to do it." Sasuke said, reaching out a hand to hold hers. Sakura took in a deep breath and let it out.

"I have to." She said, trying to convince herself that she could do it. Sasuke dropped her off a block away from her house. Sakura stared at him with worry evident in her eyes.

"Call me if something happens." He told her. Sakura nodded. She leaned in and kissed him on the lips. They stayed like that for a moment and she slowly pulled away. She got out of his car and walked towards her house.

She noticed that the lights were on, so she knew that Naruto was there waiting for her to arrive. They hadn't talked since the fight over the phone and she felt guilty because they had a fight and she just reconciled with her first love. She stood in front of the door. Shaking, she grabbed her keys and unlocked it. She opened the door and stepped inside, realizing that Naruto was just in the living room. There was no sound, what-so-ever, it was just him, quietly sitting there. She approached the couch and stood next to it.

"Naruto."

* * *

**A/N: Now, wasn't that just...mixed emotions? LOL. haha. As I've said above, I'll try my best to think of something to follow this up. I'm still kinda stuck you see. Any suggestions of what should happen next? Help me out here readers. :) Thank you! Please leave a review! ^_^ They are all highly-appreciated. ^_^**

* * *

**April 11, 2011 [Monday; 11:47 p.m.]**

**Philippines**


	13. Choice 13: And Problems Arise

**A/N: Yes! We've had two days off at school and I've been spending those two days writing, proof-reading and editing this chapter. I actually have finished this story up in my head so the only problem I have now is how to put it to words. Haha. Oh right, I see three new people in the review page today. ^_^ Thank you _Kat11992, xiamesee _and _Alice-hime of the moon._ Also, thanks for adding this to your favorites. So, on to the chapter. :D**

**Disclaimer: I believe I've made my point since this is already chapter 13. :)) Please see previews disclaimers. hahaha.**

* * *

**Choice # 13: And Problems Arise**

* * *

Sasuke drove to his apartment rather than the Yamanaka mansion; he wasn't in the mood to meet Ino just yet. So, he was surprised when he entered his flat and saw Ino right there, waiting for him and watching television while on his couch. Ino heard the door close and was not surprised at all to see Sasuke since it was his flat after all.

"Oh. You're back." Ino said casually. She went over to him and tried to give him a kiss, but he dodged it.

"What are you doing here?" He asked coldly, walking towards the television and turning it off. Ino raised an eyebrow at him.

"I wanted to see you silly, since you didn't bother telling me where you went off for the past week." Ino said with a smile. Sasuke was amused at what she was trying to put up in front of him, he turned to her.

"Drop the act. You know where I went, who I was with and probably have an idea of what we did." He started. He gave her a cold look again. "Shikamaru had been reporting to you." He told her straight out. Ino fell silent and bit her lip.

"How did you know?" Ino asked quietly. Sasuke did not bother answering her for she knew that he was smart enough to figure that out. "Well?" Ino started. "What should I do, Sasuke?" she was now crying. She didn't want to let him go. "Tell me. I want to stay with you." She cried. Sasuke shook his head.

"No." He told her. "I don't want you to." Sasuke said. He was never a sweet-talker; he always said things straight to the point. Ino sobbed.

"You'll lose everything if you leave me! Everything that you and Itachi had worked hard for." She told him truthfully. Sasuke just gave her a cold stare.

"I don't care." Sasuke replied simply. There was a long pause and Ino's sobs were the only sound heard inside the flat. It was somewhat deafening; the silence.

"So you want a divorce now, don't you?" Ino asked bravely, crying.

"Yes."

"What if I can't give it to you? What if my father punishes you for it?" She asked, trying hard.

"I'll talk to him." He said honestly. Ino couldn't believe her ears, he was doing all this for Sakura and for some reason, she knew that she was defeated.

"I still really want to be your wife." Ino was practically begging him. Sasuke looked at her and pitied her, but he can't agree to that.

"Why do you even love me so much?" He wanted to know, his tone different from the usual. Ino looked up at him and gave him a weak smile.

"I don't even know. I just do." She quietly said. Sasuke stared at her, not knowing if he should say anything. After a while, she continued, "But saying that won't change anything right? You still love her."

"Yes." Sasuke said bluntly, not at all caring if she felt hurt by his words.

Ino shook her head, grabbed her bag and turned to leave. She didn't want to cling onto him anymore; well, at least not spot on. She tried and she had ridiculed herself to the level that she was ashamed already. She cried as she walked out of his apartment, leaving Sasuke alone. Sasuke, on the other hand, was thinking of what was going on in Sakura's house.

* * *

Naruto was staring at the television, not watching anything, just staring. He noticed that Sakura arrived; he looked at her, stood up and smiled. He walked over to her, his heart pounding by the second as he gave her a welcoming hug.

"Hey. Welcome home." He told her in a light-hearted manner. Sakura felt bad, he was trying really hard. "How's Sapporo?" He asked. Sakura's eyes were welling with tears.

"Naruto." Sakura started, looking at Naruto with sadness in her eyes. Naruto continued to smile at her, pushing away the bad vibes.

"How are your parents? Were they happy to see you?" He asked as he held her hand. Sakura just looked pained at what Naruto was doing. She pulled her hand away and looked at him.

"Naruto, don't do this." Sakura said, trying hard to control herself. It was her fault why Naruto was like this.

Sakura slowly walked towards him, putting her arms around his neck and hugging him tight. She started shaking violently as tears fell from her eyes. In an instant, Naruto knew what happened; she had done something that she herself knew would hurt Naruto deeply. Instead of getting mad, Naruto hugged her back, comforting her.

"It's okay." He started, trying to smile. "I'll understand."

"You won't. I can never explain it to you in a way that you'll understand." Sakura cried, pulling away from the hug. She looked down at her feet and continued crying. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She sobbed.

"You're right. I don't understand." Naruto said honestly. "Tell me." He told her gently. Sakura looked up at him.

"Someone like you doesn't deserve someone like me." She told him truthfully. "I...did it again." She stammered. She wanted to tell him, but she knew it would hurt_, a lot_. Naruto knew what she was talking about, but he won't acknowledge it until she says so.

"Did what again?" Naruto asked, his voice failing him. Sakura swallowed a lump that formed in her throat.

"I..he..we.." Sakura tried as she looked deeply in his eyes. With that, he knew that his hunch was correct. He just stared at her, dumbfounded. He didn't need to hear it after all because it was all there in her eyes. "I'm sorry" She repeated. She opted to touch his face, but he moved away. "Naruto?" she cautiously called him.

Naruto took a step back; it was too much even for him to handle. It was unfair, _**they**_ were unfair. He had been good but all he got was this, betrayal from her. He looked back at Sakura and realized she was trembling so much that she was holding onto the sofa for support. He walked back to her, gently placing a hand on the side of her neck and still she trembled under his touch.

"Do you love him?" He asked quietly. Sakura's tears fell on his arm; she stayed silent and just cried. She was determined to stay quiet at all costs and this pissed him off more. He didn't realize that his grip on her neck tightened and that she was trying her best to move his hand away.

"You're hurting me." Sakura protested, pushing Naruto's hand away from her but to no success, he was just too strong. She looked into his eyes and saw nothing but hurt and anger.

"Goddamn it! Answer me!" Naruto snapped. Sakura jumped in surprise and looked down on the floor. She was sobbing violently again.

"I'm sorry."

Naruto's eyes widened, he let her go and backed away. Sakura just stared at him; his eyes were blank and hazy. Suddenly, he frowned and went towards the door, leaving Sakura behind. Sakura was confused; she was surprised that he actually did nothing to hurt her in any way possible.

""Where are you going?" Sakura asked, a bit afraid.

"To do something I should've done 7 years ago." He replied, his voice full of anger and determination. Sakura knew he was heading out to see Sasuke and beat the crap out of him so she lunged forward and prevented Naruto from going.

"No! Please! You'll get hurt!" Sakura shouted, Naruto snorted as he pushed her away harshly that she fell on the floor. He didn't even bother to look at her or help her up.

"_I'll_ get hurt? Are you sure you're saying the right words _Haruno_?" Naruto said coldly, Sakura felt like she'd been stabbed with a knife when Naruto addressed her by her last name. "I'm done with this." He said as he took off.

Sakura stood up, this was not how she wanted it to end. She pictured it as her asking for a clean divorce, but that is clearly not what fate had in mind. She frantically searched for her cellphone and when she found it, she quickly dialed Sasuke's number.

_'Please pick up, please pick up.' _She chanted in her mind. Finally, she heard his voice.

"Is everything alright?" Sasuke asked immediately, his voice sounded hard and worried. Sakura sobbed, but fought it off as she remembered that she was going to warn him.

"Naruto..he..he went off to find you." Sakura cried, her whole body trembling. "He'll definitely do something horrible. I've never seen him like that." She added; she heard Sasuke's infamous _'Hn.'_

"Don't 'hn' me! I'm worried about you!" Sakura said aloud. She can actually feel his smirk reverberating through the phone.

"Stop worrying. You know who I am right?" He said simply and in a very casual voice. Sakura couldn't believe her ears. This man was really pushing it.

"So what if you're _Sasuke_? Stop making that excuse you idiot!" Sakura said angrily.

"I'll hang up now. I seem to have a very angry visitor." Sasuke said, quite amused.

"No! Sasuke, don't provoke h—" She stopped as she was cut off. "Ugh." She groaned; Sasuke was just unstoppable. She stayed there, just worrying and wondering what's happening to the two of them.

* * *

Sasuke opened his door as he clicked his phone off. Naruto was madly knocking and was going to break his door down if Sasuke hadn't opened it soon enough. Bored onyx eyes met fiery blue ones. Sasuke gave him a smirk and that earned him a punch on the face.

"Ah." Sasuke reacted simply, touching his cheek that has just received one big blow from Naruto. Usually, Sasuke fights back but he thought that Naruto should have a chance to let his anger out.

"I knew it. From the moment I saw you at the steak house, I knew that my married life is ruined!" Naruto said fiercely. Sasuke just stared at him and Naruto tried to punch him again, but this time he dodged it.

"I'm not ruining anything. I'm taking back what's rightfully mine." He said bluntly, not caring if he was hurting him. He was just stating the facts.

"You stole Ayaka away from me, now Sakura? I have nothing left!" Naruto screamed, still trying to have a brawl with Sasuke. Naruto gave him another punch and Sasuke just accepted it, head on. Sasuke punched him back and that single punch made his lip bleed.

"Stop punching. I can't talk." Sasuke said in a huffed voice because of all the dodging. "Sakura doesn't love you." He added simply, again stating the hurtful facts.

"Shut up! She does! If you didn't show up, she would have!" Naruto shouted, throwing another punch at him but Sasuke quickly dodged it again and punched him back on the stomach in return. Naruto groaned.

"You're an idiot. I'm not stealing anything. Ayaka's my daughter and Sakura's her mother, they're both mine." Sasuke told him in a quiet voice. Surprisingly, he heard sobbing through gritted teeth on Naruto's part. He tried not to laugh, so he took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"You're really fucking annoying Sasuke." Naruto retorted as the reality of things dawned on him. He knew that Sakura never really loved him but he figured that she will after a while. He knew that Ayaka was not really his but he figured that she'll be after a while. All of this popped away when Sasuke came back. "I will not let her go." Naruto said, not giving up. Sasuke shook his head.

"She's Haruno Sakura, she'll find her way out." Sasuke stated simply.

"Damn it Sasuke. How come you always win?" Naruto said in a defeated voice. Sasuke shrugged.

"I don't. I just get there first." Sasuke replied.

* * *

Sakura was pacing back and forth; this had turned out really bad. She didn't know what to do, what to think and who to go to. Thoughts were running through her mind as she pictured Naruto and Sasuke having a brawl over at Sasuke's place. She sighed and just as she was about to sit and calm down, a knock was heard on her door. She immediately stood up and ran to her door.

"Naruto?" She blurted out almost at once, hoping that it was Naruto back from Sasuke's place.

Surprisingly though, it was not. Standing there was Hinata, her eyes were hidden behind her bangs and Sakura knew why. Sakura instinctively backed away from Hinata as she slowly barged into the house. She had a very bad feeling about this but she just couldn't stop Hinata from what she was about to do. A loud slap was heard and Sakura's face stung, reddening as minutes goes by. Sakura's eyes widened, dumbfounded at what just happened. She saw anger and tears in Hinata's eyes and Sakura felt guilty.

"Hinata."

Hinata slapped her again, harder than before. Sakura just received the blow, she was at fault and she knew it. Hinata was looking at her with a mixture of anger, sadness and disgust. Sakura just stood there as Hinata closed the door behind her.

"You're _disgusting_ Sakura." Hinata said harshly, meaning every word that came out of her mouth. Sakura winced.

"I'm sorry." Sakura replied in an almost inaudible voice. Hinata let out a sarcastically disbelieving chuckle.

"Sorry. _You're sorry_? How many times are you going to say sorry? Do you still even know what that word means?" Hinata exploded; she wanted to let it all out. She has put up with everything that Sakura did because she was her best friend and Hinata knew that Sakura needed a companion especially when she had Ayaka but this was just out of line. "I've given up Sakura! I've given up because he loves you! I was just hoping that you'll love him back! Was that too much to ask?" Hinata continued, her usual composure gone. Sakura sobbed as she looked up to face Hinata.

"I tried. You know I did." Sakura said simply. Hinata shook her head.

"No, you didn't. You were always pushing him away." Hinata told Sakura straightforwardly. "God, you weren't even willing to have sex with the guy even after you guys got married!" Hinata said accusingly. Hinata knew that since Sakura would always let it slip before that they haven't done it yet. Sakura was just receiving Hinata's blows one after another.

"I don't know what to say right now. Honestly. I know I'm a horrible person, yes, I can say that about myself but Hinata, I don't want to lose you too." Sakura said, looking straight at Hinata's eyes which were blank. Hinata let out a sarcastic laugh as she shook her head in disappointment.

"I thought Sasuke was enough." Hinata said. Sakura frowned, she didn't quite get that.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked. Hinata turned around and started to head towards the door but looked back before she left.

"You should've first thought of how much you're going to lose before you start doing idiotic things Sakura." Hinata said in a low voice. "He's just one guy. It'll be hard to put up with everything that'll happen from now on." Hinata warned her. Sakura knew that Hinata was concerned for her even though she's still angry.

"I'll manage, for him and for Ayaka." Sakura replied, looking down at her feet. Hinata frowned.

"Why? Why would you go to such extent for him?" Hinata asked, really wanting to know. Sakura looked up at her with a sincere and happy smile plastered on her face.

"Because he's totally worth it." Sakura said. That was not the best thing to say at that time since she earned another slap from Hinata but she just wanted to be honest, Hinata was her bestfriend after all.

"You're unfair Sakura." Hinata said, walking out and slamming the door shut behind her. Once Hinata left, Sakura couldn't keep it together anymore. She crumbled to the ground, sitting on the floor and crying.

"I know. I know I am. I'm sorry." She said to no one in particular. Everything was just chaotic already but if she didn't pull herself together, she won't manage to get out of the other problems to come and she knew that they were coming, she can feel it.

* * *

A lot of hours passed by and Sakura was still alone inside her house, Naruto was not back yet and she was bothered by it. She heard a knock on her door for the second time that day and she slowly opened it, fearing that she'll see an angry Naruto or even worse, Itachi. Thankfully though, it was Kakashi with Ayaka.

"Mama? Did you cry?" Ayaka asked in her innocent voice. Sakura tried to smile in front of her daughter.

"No Aya-chan." She said, Ayaka nodded. Sakura turned to Kakashi and smiled, "Thank you for taking care of her." Sakura said. Kakashi shook his head.

"It's okay." Kakashi replied. Ayaka entered the house and went straight to the living room. Once she was gone, Kakashi asked, "Is everything alright?"

"No. But it will be, I hope." Sakura replied honestly. Kakashi gave her a friendly hug.

"Just stay strong, okay?" He said. Sakura nodded and with that Kakashi bid her goodbye.

Sakura closed the door behind her and noticed that Ayaka was running around the house looking for Naruto. She was doing some weird stuff though; she was holding a banana in her hand while calling Naruto's name. Sakura went over to her.

"What are you doing Aya-chan? And what's with that banana?" Sakura asked. Ayaka looked at her innocently.

"Papa told me Na-chan was a monkey." Ayaka replied honestly. Sakura's nerves popped out, Sasuke was really pushing it. He was even infecting their daughter a lot of bad things but for a moment there, she felt the atmosphere lighten up because of Ayaka.

"No Ayaka, Na-chan is not a monkey. Papa was just kidding." Sakura said, trying to convince Ayaka. Ayaka pouted.

"Aww. Where is Na-chan Mama?" Ayaka asked. Sakura thought of a way to answer that. She made Ayaka sit beside her as she talked to her seriously.

"Will you miss Naruto if he's gone?" Sakura asked. Ayaka nodded.

Sakura explained to Ayaka that Naruto was going to be gone for a long time, but she did not say why. She told a bit of white lies to cover it up and thankfully, Ayaka did not question her further. Ayaka knew that she now had a Mama and a Papa but she will always wait for Naruto to come back. The two of them spent the night alone inside the house. Naruto never came back home at Sakura's place so she was left with Ayaka again.

* * *

The both of them went back to work just like the usual; a week had already passed since the chaotic mess that the both of them got into and February is coming to an end. No one came over at Sakura's house for the next few days, only Sasuke. Sasuke picks them up from their house, drops Ayaka at school then goes straight to work with Sakura and in the afternoon, Kakashi drops Ayaka off at their office; it was like that for a week.

"Don't you think this is weird?" Tenten asked Temari.

"I thought they're back together?" Temari asked back.

"Were they always like this?" Choji asked.

They were looking at Sasuke and Sakura. Sakura was constantly fighting with Sasuke and was throwing him dirty looks while Sasuke just ignored her. They were fighting about food, specifically natto beans. Sakura, of course, still does not tolerate waste of food since she's very practical and Sasuke still didn't want to eat the sticky beans.

"Eat it." Sakura ordered him. Sasuke ignored her, continuing to read the papers in front of the desk. "If you're going to stay at my office table for the whole day, you've got to eat the beans." Sakura said unreasonably, Sasuke looked at her and avoided to laugh. What she said does not sound like a threat at all.

"I'm your boss. Do not order me around." Sasuke said in a cold voice. Sakura groaned.

"Fine, then you're not allowed to go near my house from now on." Sakura tried. Her friends clapped at her cunningness. Sasuke just raised an eyebrow at her.

"Can you survive that?" Sasuke said with a smug look plastered on his face. Sakura blushed, well, right now she probably can't survive without Sasuke since she's still afraid that Itachi will turn up anytime soon.

"Yes. I did so for seven years." Sakura retorted, throwing in Sasuke's mistake right at his face. Sasuke grunted; she had a point. "Well?" Sakura waited. Sasuke stood up and walked towards his office.

"No." He ended before closing the door behind him. Sakura frowned and followed him inside.

"Just eat the damn beans you idiot!" Sakura said aloud as she vanished inside the room too. Everyone was taken aback by the scene.

"Did they just fight over natto beans?" An employee asked, quite confused. The others nodded. Temari shook her head and chuckled.

"They'll never get anywhere if they're always like this." Temari commented.

"Well, that's what makes them happy. Just leave them be." Tenten smiled. She looked around and frowned. "Shikamaru's still not around." Tenten sighed. It had been a long time since they last saw Shikamaru and they didn't know why he was gone.

"Yeah, I guess he's still angry about this stuff. I reckon he's got a thing for Yamanaka-san." Temari said.

"Let's just focus on our work. Let's leave them all alone." Choji said. Temari and Tenten looked at him in a weird way.

"Then stop eating and focus." They both said, confiscating Choji's food.

* * *

A few hours passed when the door suddenly burst open, startling everyone in the room. Their eyes widened as they saw the combination in front of them; Itachi and Ayaka. Temari instinctively pressed a little button on her office phone that connects to Sasuke's office phone. Itachi scanned the room and he realized that everybody knew who he was with and he's not happy with it. He was holding onto Ayaka's wrist a bit tightly than how a person holds a child.

"Mama!" Ayaka cried, trying to yank her hand away from Itachi. "Papa!" She cried again which earned her looks from the other employees; calling Sasuke 'papa' in front of Itachi was a no-no.

Sakura and Sasuke got out of the office with Sasuke looking glum and annoyed; the others chuckled secretly for they knew that Sakura won the 'bean' fight. Sakura was laughing still at her victory.

"You really need to grow up." Sakura said, failing to notice the two persons standing by the door. Sasuke grunted.

"I want to fire you right now." Sasuke said coldly, a hand on his head like fighting a really bad headache. Sakura chuckled.

"Let me do that for you. Haruno, you're fired."

* * *

**A/N: Ugh. Too much drama, I had to do that last bit because of the drama overload. :))) And to think that I intended this to be in the Humor genre, shame on me. hahaha. ^_^ Again, I've finished this story _in my head_ so don't get your hopes up that I'll be posting anytime soon, I need to put it to words. That and the fact that I'll resume regular classes on monday. :D Thanks everyone! Review please!**

* * *

**April 23, 2011 [Saturday; 11:30 p.m.]**

**Philippines**


	14. Choice 14: Conniving

**A/N: Ah. Been gone for a long time. And I've been very busy as well. ^_^ I'm turning 18 tomorrow and it's crazy around the house today, they're getting all the stuff ready. . Gotta sneak a post though. Chapter 14. :)**

* * *

**Choice # 14: Conniving**

* * *

"_Let me do that for you. Haruno, you're fired."_

* * *

Everyone was surprised, yet again, as three more people entered the scene.

"Shikamaru? Yamanaka-san? Naruto?" Everyone echoed.

This time Sakura and Sasuke took notice of their presence and Sakura was just riled up upon seeing Itachi holding a crying Ayaka with him, thus forgetting the other three. She stormed forward; he can mess with her, but _never _mess with her daughter.

"Let go of her. Right now!" Sakura bellowed, slapping Itachi's hand away from Ayaka and wrapping her arms around her crying daughter. "No, it's okay. Mama's here." Sakura told Ayaka, calming her down. Her cries lessened into sobs. Sasuke calmly went towards Itachi and the group.

"What the hell is this?" Sasuke asked, he knew that they were going to act soon enough, but he never thought that the four of them were going to work together.

"Hello Sasuke." Ino smiled evilly.

She looked fine even after the two of them broke up. Standing next to Ino was Shikamaru who was wearing a formal suit of coat and tie. Same goes with Naruto, he was also wearing a similar outfit. Sakura looked up and her eyes met with Naruto's; she realized that he wasn't even willing to look at her because he instantly looked away. Itachi was just standing there, not saying anything at all. Ino looked around and saw everybody looking back at them and figured that it was the perfect time to state her announcement.

"Good morning. As everyone knows, Nara Shikamaru has been gone for a week. This is because we have prepared a big surprise for this department." Ino said happily. Shikamaru's face remained calm and blank. "Shikamaru will be your new marketing executive." She announced.

"What?" Sakura said aloud, standing up and facing them properly.

Everyone gasped as they heard the announcement; some were happy for Shikamaru and the others just felt badly for Sasuke. Sasuke stayed silent, carefully observing what was happening. However, Itachi just walked away, leaving the room to go to god-knows-where.

"You can't do this to him. He's been doing a great job for your company!" Sakura defended him. Naruto flinched at Sakura's words but he didn't lose his composure. Ino stared coldly at Sakura.

"Haruno-san." Ino started in a firm and not-so-friendly tone. Sakura just stared angrily at her. "You don't seem to be bothered by the fact that Shikamaru already fired you earlier." Ino said. Sakura's eyes widened. That's right, she was fired earlier but she can't back down. She still tried to reason it out.

"You can't do this to us. And you don't have a replacement." Sakura told Ino bravely, no matter how wrong that sounds. Ino scoffed at her.

"No replacement? That's not possible. I've got your replacement right here." Ino said and with that, Naruto stepped forward. Sakura's eyes widened a bit more. Ino turned her attention back to the employees. "This is Uzumaki Naruto, he will be replacing Haruno starting today. He will also be the senior marketing manager for this department." Ino ended. Sakura frowned, walking over to Naruto.

"That's not true right?" Sakura asked, talking to him directly. "Tell me that it's not true." She said, trying to force out a smile. Naruto kept silent, Sakura held both of his shoulders and started to shake him hard. "You can't do this Naruto."

"Why not?" Naruto asked coldly. Sakura slowly let go and backed away, standing next to Sasuke and holding Ayaka's hand. Sasuke made a soft sneer.

"Took you long enough." Sasuke said. This phrase earned him questionable looks from Ino and Shikamaru and an annoyed look from Naruto.

"What?" Shikamaru asked, bothered by Sasuke's nonchalant answer. He was supposed to be cowering in fear in front of them but apparently, they don't know him well enough. Sakura was also confused but she knew that Sasuke just finds it amusing to push people to their limits.

"I thought you guys wouldn't make a move." Sasuke said. He had been thinking about when they're going to show up of course. "We'll just have to find another job then." Sasuke said, looking over at Sakura who was still worried.

"Oh right, I forgot to tell you. I already made sure that you can't get a job anywhere else and you're also on the 'no flight risk' so you can't just leave the country." Ino told him calmly, crossing her arms over her chest with a triumphant look on her face.

Sasuke knew that this would happen since Itachi has always threatened him like this before. He doesn't have a plan but going with the flow is what he does best. Sasuke reached out to hold Sakura's hand; this was followed by Naruto and Ino's jealous eyes. Sasuke smirked at their reaction.

"We'll think of something." Sasuke said. He turned to Sakura. "Go get your bag and mine too." He told her gently which annoyed Ino at all levels. Sakura nodded. There was nothing she could think of doing right now than to follow Sasuke's lead. She got their stuff and Sasuke held her hand again.

"We're going?" Sakura asked. Sasuke just dragged them out of the door but before they got out, Ayaka stopped to look at Naruto.

"Na-chan." Ayaka started, Naruto looked down at her. "I miss Na-chan." Ayaka said innocently. Naruto instantly felt bad as Ayaka said those words. He was going to pat her head but Sakura pulled Ayaka away.

"I'm sorry Ayaka." Naruto whispered to himself.

Everyone were quiet, no one dared to speak as the tension still hasn't left the room. Ino frowned at everybody and clapped her hands thrice.

"What are you still standing there for? Get to work." Ino said in an exhausted voice. Things were getting pretty crazy.

* * *

"This is not good. _This is not good._"

Sakura was pacing back and forth inside her house while Sasuke was just sitting and calmly watching television. They were showing different kinds of seasonal foods that can be prepared during spring time. Spring is just around the corner since February had just ended.

"I suddenly want a _dango _and a _mochi._" Sasuke blurted out, not actually paying attention to a worried Sakura who was currently staring at him in disbelief.

"Are you seriously craving for food at a time like this?" Sakura asked.

It has been a week after they were both fired from work and they haven't thought of what to do yet. Sakura was constantly proposing solutions to Sasuke but it usually ends up to him dismissing her ideas because it's either they were stupid or impossible.

"Sasuke, come on. Think of something." Sakura begged him. She's already racked her brain too much that it's not functioning well. She slumped down beside him and leaned on his shoulder. "My brain died."

"Then don't think too much." Sasuke replied, fiddling with the remote control. "Just go and pick Ayaka up from school." He suggested as he looked up the clock and saw that it was almost time for Ayaka's dismissal. Sakura sighed.

"Fine." She stood up, walking towards their room and changing her clothes. Sasuke didn't budge from his seat even after Sakura was done fixing herself. She looked back at him, "Just, lock the door when you leave." She reminded him. Sakura knew that Sasuke had the tendency to wander around when she was gone.

Sasuke heard the door close and he still didn't leave his seat. He was looking at the television but his eyes were vacant, he was deeply thinking about something. He knew he had to do something soon. He had nothing now and he knew that because when he tried to access his bank accounts, even his personal one, everything was gone. He can't support Sakura and Ayaka with nothing. He groaned; dealing with the underhanded revenge methods of Ino was harder than he thought and he knew that there was only one way to make her stop but it certainly wasn't easy to do.

He clicked his phone open and dialed Shikamaru's number. He had to try to convince the people around Ino first before going to his last resort. After a few rings, Shikamaru picked up, his voice sounding cold and harsh.

"What do you want?" Shikamaru said with much venom in his voice.

"Let's talk." Sasuke replied in a very bossy tone. He heard a scoff on the other end of the phone.

"Don't kid around with me. Talking to me is not going to work. She's not going to change her mind." Shikamaru said. He shut his phone off without waiting for Sasuke's reply.

Sasuke knew that the only possible thing to do right now is to talk directly to Ino's source of power, her dad. Her dad had always spoiled Ino when it comes to getting what she wants and this definitely includes getting the man she wants. Sasuke sighed.

"This is not going to be pretty." He told himself.

He got ready to leave but he didn't forget to lock the door or else Sakura will kill him when he gets back.

* * *

Spring break for the students is just a few weeks ahead and Sakura can't wait to spend time with her daughter. Sakura can already see Ayaka from where she was walking from but it seemed that the girl noticed someone else other than her. She saw Ayaka waving at Naruto who came just before Sakura got there. Sakura didn't know why but she instantly hid behind a wall near her. Surprisingly, it was close enough to hear their conversation.

"Aya-chan. How have you been?" Naruto asked in a pleasant voice that Sakura haven't heard in a long time. Ayaka frowned at Naruto.

"Na-chan. _Where _have you been?" Ayaka cleverly retorted as she threw him his own question, just changing the first word. Naruto chuckled.

"I've been working." Naruto told her honestly. Ayaka glared him down. "Okay. What is it that you want to know?" Naruto asked, practically waving a white flag in front of her to show that he surrendered because of her glare.

"Na-chan doesn't go home. Where do you sleep?" Ayaka innocently asked, wondering the most simplest of things.

"I'm sleeping at my Papa's house." Naruto lied, he can't tell the girl that he's really moved out of their house, she'll be devastated.

"Jii-chan is bad. He's taking Na-chan away." Ayaka pouted while Naruto chuckled and then she turned bubbly again. "You know Na-chan, Mama's always at home. She cooks for Ayaka everyday." Ayaka happily clapped her hands. It seems that she's happy that Sakura doesn't have a job.

"That's great. How is she?" Naruto asked and that was when Sakura went to face them.

"I'm fine." Sakura replied, startling Naruto as she spoke. Naruto didn't bother to look at her.

"Mama! Look! Look! It's Na-chan!" Ayaka said, hopping over to her mother and squealing in excitement. Sakura smiled at her daughter.

"Yes, I can see him Ayaka." Sakura said with a smile. Sakura held Ayaka's hand and bowed politely to Naruto which made him glance at her; he felt that a huge gap was formed in between them. Naruto just stared at her. "We're going now. Bye." Sakura told him.

"Sakura." Naruto called out. Sakura looked back at him. "Is everything going okay for you?" That stupid question made him want to throw himself to a nearby highway so he could just die. Of course everything wasn't all right, he practically helped Ino to make Sakura and Sasuke's life miserable and now he's asking if she's all right. _Stupid._ He snapped out of his inner monologue when Sakura replied.

"Not really but I'll get the hang of it." She smiled.

"I'm sorry." He muttered, in the end, he still felt guilty over what he did. Even though Sakura had hurt him, she's still important to him. Sakura smiled again.

"No, it's okay. I deserved it." Sakura replied. "It's nice seeing you again. Bye." She ended as she and Ayaka walked away. Naruto was left all alone; he was thinking if he made the right decision of helping Ino.

* * *

Sakura was not surprised that no one was home when they came back. She knew that Sasuke will leave and do something that, no matter how many times she pesters him for it, he doesn't tell her. She was preparing dinner when Sasuke arrived looking exhausted.

"Where have you been?" Sakura asked him. She chuckled at how Ayaka ran in front of her, holding out Sasuke's slippers for him to put on. They're starting to feel all 'family-like'. Sasuke smiled at his daughter.

"Thank you." He told the girl, ruffling her hair. He looked up at Sakura and was glad to receive a sweet kiss on his lips. "Ah, just what I needed." He said. Sakura laughed a bit at his comment.

"So? Where did you go?" Sakura asked as they walked over to the dining table so they could start eating.

"I went to find a solution to our problem." Sasuke told her honestly. Sakura waited for more details, but when she realized he won't start talking, she sighed.

"You failed, didn't you?" Sakura told him straight out. Sasuke shrugged and started eating his dinner. "Why won't you tell me what you're doing?" She asked.

"I'll tell you soon enough." He replied nonchalantly. He won't tell her, no, not until he makes progress with it. Ah, men and their pride. And that was when Ayaka decided that she had been quiet long enough.

"Papa, we saw Na-chan today." Ayaka said, in the same nonchalant voice as Sasuke which earned her a frown from Sakura. Usually, she relays good news with a bright smile. Sasuke noticed this as well.

"What's with the voice Ayaka?" He asked. Ayaka looked up at him and cringed but he chuckled.

"Papa doesn't like Na-chan so much." Ayaka observed. She's very keen at observing. Sasuke, however, didn't deny it. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"So you thought that impersonating your father will keep him from getting angry?" Sakura answered her while Ayaka nodded. "He's not mad." She assured her before turning to Sasuke. "Aren't you?" not quite sure herself.

Sasuke stared at her coldly. "What do you think?" He asked back. Sakura swallowed nervously and tried to smile. Ayaka, on the other hand, was looking from Sakura to Sasuke, shaking her head and muttering, "Ah. Adults." which is weir because she sounded like one herself.

"No. You're not." She replied, not actually hearing what Ayaka said. She was glad that all she received was a grimace from him. He didn't actually want his daughter to think that he was mad, even if he really was.

"Just don't let me see it." He started. "Or all hell will break loose." He threatened quietly so only Sakura can hear it. Sakura nodded and then sighed.

"I still can't believe we don't have a job." Sakura said, throwing away the subject about Naruto.

"Look on the bright side. At least we won't die from overworking." Sasuke told her truthfully.

* * *

Sakura and Sasuke survived a few months despite both of them being jobless. It was impossible for Sakura to not do anything and just wait for news from Sasuke everyday, so she put up a stall in front of her house and started selling spring foods. This little stall attracted so much attention because of Ayaka's charm and Sakura's cooking skill. It earned quite well considering it was just a small stall. Sakura was actually happy at what she was doing because she gets to bond with her daughter until spring break was finished but that happiness immediately ended when she received a letter one May afternoon while she was cleaning up her stall.

"What the hell?" Sakura screamed hysterically inside her house. This was beginning to be really unfair, not that it wasn't unfair before, but this was something else. Sakura quickly dialed Sasuke's phone number. "You've got to come home. _Right now._" Sakura told him.

It wasn't an hour before Sasuke arrived at their house, wondering what the heck happened to her to suddenly make that call and sound like it was a matter of life and death.

"Look at this." Sakura shoved the letter in Sasuke's hand. He started reading it quietly while Sakura was pacing back and forth in front of him. That seemed to be her hobby recently.

"They're seriously starting to get annoying." Sasuke muttered as he finished reading the letter.

It turns out that it was an eviction notice. The letter states that they have 30 days left to stay in the house before the new owner moves in. Sakura grunted as she dialed the landlord's number on her phone and as soon as he picked up, she started ranting.

"New owner? What new owner? I've been paying for this house to be my property since I moved in and I never had any late payments. So, what the fu—I mean, what is this 'new owner' thing?" Sakura asked, pissed off at what was happening but still having some sense to be polite.

"Sakura-san, I'm sorry if this is all too sudden for you, but the buyer offered full payment _and more_. I couldn't turn that down, you know how hard it is to earn money nowadays. I hope you understand." The landlord on the other end told her. Sakura huffed.

"I don't understand. This is unfair sir. I thought we had a clear deal." She replied, her voice faltering at every word she says. Her landlord was a kind person, he couldn't just do this to her. There was a pause from the other line.

"I'm sorry Sakura-san. They'll be going after my family if I didn't give them what they wanted."

"They?" Sakura asked but the phone clicked off and the other line went dead.

She was now fuming with anger as she turned to a silent Sasuke who looks like he was thinking about something very deeply. She couldn't believe it, well, she did believe it but she never thought it would really happen.

"I assume that you know who _they _are." Sakura heard Sasuke say as she was hissing some curse words under her breath. She turned to Sasuke and nodded before turning her back from him again and continuing with her frustrated monologue.

"Are we acting in some live-action drama or something? I mean, _really? _Buying off our house? Who does she think she is, Domyouji Tsukasa's mother?_" _Sakura continued ranting. Her side comment-slash-question made Sasuke look at her in a weird way.

"Domyouji." Sasuke muttered quietly with a soft chuckle, shaking his head in hidden amusement. "Don't worry, I'm putting an end to this." Sasuke told her even though he doesn't know if he'll succeed in his plan. "Tomorrow." He ended, walking towards their room. "And stop involving manga characters in our problems." Sasuke commented. Sakura rolled her eyes at him and followed him inside.

"Spring is ending and I still don't know where you're going whenever you leave." Sakura whined, pushing aside his comment about the manga stuff.

"I'm trying to have a talk with my father-in-law." Sasuke told her simply which earned him a surprised whack behind the head from Sakura. "Ow!"

"You're doing something as important as that and I didn't even know?" Sakura told him. Sasuke shrugged.

"Because you'll insist on going with me." He replied. Sakura was opening her mouth to answer but Sasuke cut him off, "You can't." Sasuke told her nonchalantly, flopping down on the bed and turning his back on her. Sakura pouted but at least now she knows where he's going off everytime he leaves and that means that she can follow him if she can. She laughed secretly but this didn't escape Sasuke's sharp ears. "Stop thinking about following me. I won't let you." He said. Sakura rolled her eyes at him again. She's not going to be bossed around.

"Ah. I still need to pick Ayaka up from school." Sakura remembered as she glanced at the clock. Classes had started again and she was back to being the usual mom. "See you later." She told him.

* * *

The next day came and Sasuke was determined to have a talk with Mr. Yamanaka. It seemed that the big boss was out of the country since January and still hasn't come back. He quickly left the house earlier than usual just in case Sakura gets an idea of following him to the Yamanaka mansion. He arrived at the huge house and was greeted by the usual 'hi's' and 'hello's' from the employees. He was, after all, still Ino's husband on paper.

"Is he here?" Sasuke asked as he walked over to their personal butler. The employee smiled and gave him a tiny nod.

"Yes Uchiha-san. Apparently, yo—"

The employee wasn't able to finish relaying the information he had in mind to Sasuke as he immediately stormed off to Mr. Yamanaka's room. He was going to barge in when he heard two people talking inside. He realized that there was a little opening in the door and was going to walk away to avoid eavesdropping when he heard the other person's voice.

"I'm not usually the one who begs but please, give him another chance. I will personally handle him myself."

Sasuke's eyes widened as he realized who the owner of that voice was. He froze for he couldn't help but listen to their conversation.

* * *

**A/N: Ah. I got nothing. It's still chaotic here so I'm going shut this off now. I'm planning to end this with the next two chapters maybe, I'm really running out of ideas and I think I'm running out of readers as well. Sorry if I disappointed you guys. :) Well, gotta go and be all 'smiles' in front of everyone. ^^**

* * *

**May 21, 2011 [Saturday; 04:12 p.m.]**

**Philippines**


	15. Choice 15: Itachi's Solution

**A/N: Wow. What's up with this new setting on FF? Haha. I was kinda surprised but the initial shock is now gone. ^_^ Early update, finally! I'll be enrolling next week and classes start two weeks from now. Damn. It's June again. Good luck to those who have classes next week. :D Okay. Here goes nothing. 15!**

**Oh, before I start, I just want to share that I think I'm going insane. When I'm proof-reading, my eyes interchanges Sasuke and Sakura's name. Ugh. Too much writing/reading. My brain's damaged. Pray for me. lol. hahaha. Enjoy.**

* * *

**Choice # 15: Itachi's Solution**

* * *

"_I'm not usually the one who begs but please, if you could just give him another chance. I will personally handle him myself." _

_Sasuke's eyes widened as he realized who the owner of that voice was. He froze for he couldn't help but listen to their conversation._

Mr. Yamanaka stared at Itachi for a long time before putting a hand on his forehead. He wasn't acting like he was fighting a bad headache because he really _is _fighting a bad headache. He just arrived and here he was, having a talk with one of the Uchiha brothers.

"Let me see if I get this right." Mr. Yamanaka started, looking up at Itachi. "You're saying that my daughter fired her husband from work, closed all of his bank accounts and basically started ruining his life. Is that it?" He said in a bored tone.

"Yes sir. And I can't blame her sir, my brother did something very wrong." Itachi told him honestly. Mr. Yamanaka looked at him inquiringly, egging him to continue but Itachi wasn't talking.

"What is this wrongdoing?" He asked. It's difficult to have a whole huge company to run and at the same time, a daughter who's spoiled. He needed to hear Sasuke's faults before making a decision. He sighed, nobody's telling him what's happening nowadays.

"Sir. He…" Itachi started. "He wants a divorce." He explained simply. Mr. Yamanaka straightened up. He thought it was something simple that her daughter was just overreacting, but a divorce is _not _something simple.

"Why does he want a divorce?" Mr. Yamanaka asked. Itachi contemplated for a moment before deciding that it was best to tell the boss.

"Sasuke has found his first...love." Itachi paused before ending his sentence. It was very awkward, very awkward indeed. "And they've got a child."

Mr. Yamanaka thought for a moment. This was beginning to be unfair for his daughter, he was a sensible man but her daughter's happiness comes first.

"I'm sure that you are aware of how grieve this situation is." Mr. Yamanaka started. Itachi nodded. "I have nothing to say." He ended.

"But sir, you have the power to stop your daughter from what she's doing right now." Itachi reasoned out. Mr. Yamanaka threw him a piercing look, this was ridiculous for him.

"Itachi, you, of all people, knew that I saw potential in your brother as the future CEO of this company. I gave him my daughter's hand just as you wanted but now he goes off and breaks her heart? No. I'm not going to interfere. I am not against the idea of my daughter breaking him into pieces, whether it'd be physical, emotional or financial." Mr. Yamanaka stated his view. Itachi, however, was not the type to back down.

"I am apologizing on his behalf." Itachi said. "Please sir." He ended. Sasuke was confused, why was his brother pleading?

"Why are you doing this Uchiha? Why are you being so desperate?" He asked; his voice making a 360 degree turn. It was calmer and completely different from his previous tone. "Ever since you started working for this company back when Sasuke was in college, you wanted me to see the greatness in him and have him marry my daughter. Now, you're pleading me to let him keep his job and his high status in the company. Why?" The president asked, his voice having a knowing tone. There was a long pause.

"I want him to succeed." Itachi replied simply, his voice a little worn out from all the talking. He doesn't usually talk much.

"Ah. Partly true." Mr. Yamanaka replied. "Tell me everything." He added. Again, there was a pause. Sasuke listened intently, there was something that his brother was not telling him.

"I don't want him to live the life that I saw my parents lived in." Itachi said in a quiet and almost trembling voice. Sasuke frowned, he had no idea what Itachi was talking about. He doesn't remember his parents because he grew up only with Itachi and their relatives' help, he never asked about their parents.

"What life is that, Uchiha?" Mr. Yamanaka asked.

"I saw how they struggled because they were literally _stupid_. I didn't want him to experience that, I wanted him to become successful that's why I started controlling his decisions at an early age. What I wanted for him was luxury, fame, fortune and status so when he reach a certain age, he won't suffer much. I wanted the best for him." Itachi explained.

"Uchiha." The president started, his calm voice still present. "You plan the best for him as _you_ see it. Did you ever ask him what he wanted?" The president asked. Itachi shook his head. "I'll ask you now then, why didn't you just ask me to let you marry my daughter?" He asked.

"Because that means I will be supporting Sasuke." Itachi replied.

"What is wrong with that?" Mr. Yamanaka asked.

"I don't want that. If I married your daughter, everything I just said that I want for him would all go to me but if he married Ino, everything will be permanently his." Itachi said. "I don't care if he develops a grudge against me for controlling his life but at least I'm assured that he's got a good life." Itachi explained even though this just revealed his ulterior motive and he would probably look bad in front of the president. Sasuke, on the other hand, was not going to listen to any of it anymore. He walked away, thinking that he'll just come back the next morning for a decent talk when his mind is all cleared up.

"You have good intentions for your brother Uchiha Itachi…" He replied. "But your revelation made me realize that you were just using my daughter to get rich, am I right?" Mr. Yamanaka asked. He was not stupid, of course, but he can't punish Itachi for it because he had done a great deal of help in the company. Itachi closed his mouth shut; this is why he doesn't usually talk. "And although I did pry on your life, this doesn't change my decision on our first topic. So please, leave. I want to get some sleep." He said.

"Wait. Sir, what can I do so that you can take him back?" Itachi asked one last time. Mr. Yamanaka stared him down.

"Get rid of the girl and the child so Sasuke can get back to being Ino's husband." Mr. Yamanaka said, telling Itachi a solution that would most likely please Ino.

* * *

Sasuke got home a bit later than usual, he actually arrived at dinner time. He just spent his day out walking, thinking and sulking around. Sakura questioned him rather enthusiastically about his venture to the Yamanaka mansion.

"So, how was it? Was he there? Did you talk to him? Come on, tell me." Sakura asked. Sasuke ignored her though, he was not in the mood of her prying. "Sasuke." Sakura repeated for almost one hundred times until Sasuke got annoyed.

"Stop being annoying." Sasuke shunned her and went inside their room.

Sakura just let it go, she's got problems of her own. She watched Ayaka whine about her Papa not playing with her inside the room, but Sakura was thinking of something else. She smiled at Ayaka and told her it was nearly time for her to go to bed. Ayaka, being the obedient girl she was, ran to her room and waved goodnight to her mom.

"I've got to make a choice too right?" Sakura muttered to herself as she looked up at the ceiling of the dark room that was only lit by the moon. Sasuke shifted from his position, not opening his eyes to look at her.

"If you must, then choose me." Sasuke said as he continued to drift off to sleep. Sakura was left sighing and soon enough, she entered her own dream world as well.

* * *

The next day was like _hell, _literally. Summer was starting and it was very humid and the weather report shows that it'll be raining soon too. Sakura felt as confused as the weather that day. Sasuke just left their house and Sakura just arrived from Ayaka's school. She was waiting for someone and soon enough, the doorbell rang.

"Good morning." Sakura grimaced. Everything that was good in the morning just flew out the window.

"Wow. This is a nice house. I could really live here." Ino commented, entering the privacy of Sakura's home, even though she wasn't invited in. "How's life Haruno? Still horrible?" Ino smiled while Sakura flinched.

"Ino-san, if you don't have anything else to say…" Sakura started. She received a call yesterday that Ino was going to drop by at her house. Ino held a hand to shut her up.

"I don't have anything to say…" Ino started in a really bitchy way. "But he does." She ended just as Itachi entered the house. Ino turned her back on Sakura. "I guess the s_akura _will cease to bloom starting today." Ino sneered, referring to the weather forecast but directing her words towards Sakura. She gave Sakura one last triumphant look. "At least you're not alone." She said as she walked out, waving a hand goodbye.

Sakura bit her lip as she saw Itachi staring at her with a mixture of annoyance and probably, loathing. "Itachi." Sakura managed to say.

"I'll get straight to the point. Leave." Itachi simply said without explaining. Sakura frowned.

"What?"

"Leave. Take your daughter with you and leave Sasuke alone." Itachi told her. Sakura shook her head.

"No. We've made it this far, why am I supposed to follow your orders now?" Sakura retorted, mustering up all her courage to fight back.

"Because if you don't it's going to cause you your daughter." Itachi replied nonchalantly. This made Sakura stop and catch her next retort.

"Wha—what do you mean?" She asked, her voice failing her. Itachi walked around and observed the room.

"If you don't leave with the little pest, we're going to have to take her away from you and not let her see you again." Itachi explained. Sakura's eyes widened. "You know very well that we can do that, right?"

"That's preposterous! It's not…it's not…" She stammered, not finding the right words to say. Itachi turned to her again.

"Not what Haruno? Not what a normal person would do? When did I even do something a normal person would?" Itachi asked smugly. Sakura shook her head.

"No. Sasuke won't let you." Sakura told him honestly.

"That's why he's not supposed to know. Remember Haruno, your daughter is at school. I have people watching her, so don't make the wrong choice." Itachi said. "I expect to see you out of here tomorrow." Itachi ended, walking out the door and leaving Sakura dumbfounded inside her own house.

* * *

On Sasuke's side, he was standing face to face with his father in law. Mr. Yamanaka was just staring at him.

"I've already talked to your brother, do we still really need to discuss this?" Mr. Yamanaka asked in a defeated tone.

"I won't be coming back. I'm here to request a divorce. I don't love your daughter, I used her to get back to Japan and find Sakura." Sasuke said all out. He was not there to lie. However, Mr. Yamanaka was not paying attention; he just got a phone call from Itachi.

"Ah, yes. As usual, you're quick and true to your words." Mr. Yamanaka talked over the phone, Sasuke waited until he was done. Mr. Yamanaka stared at Sasuke as he clicked his phone off. "I'm sorry. I'm busy, you need to leave." He said.

"Wait! Sir. I need your consent. Let me just get what I earned from working at your company and I will never bother you again." Sasuke tried again; he was never this persistent before and even Mr. Yamanaka knows that. However, he can't do anything about it.

"My daughter wants you back. I want her to be happy so I cannot help you." Mr. Yamanaka said, walking away and leaving Sasuke.

"Goddamn it!" Sasuke bellowed. He was frustrated, what he was doing was going nowhere. He waited a bit more but he felt that Mr. Yamanaka was not going to come back so he left.

* * *

He went back to the house a little later than usual and as he entered, Sakura gave him a bright smile; she was apparently waiting for him to arrive. Sakura walked over to Sasuke and gave him a deep kiss which surprised him a bit; usually he just receives a light peck. As she pulled away, Sasuke stared at her.

"Is there something wrong?" Sasuke asked, immediately figuring out that there was some kind of a problem. Sakura shook her head in reply, smiling at him.

"Nothing. We haven't done it in a while." Sakura whispered, blushing furiously at what she said. Sasuke smirked; that was right, they had too many problems to deal with recently.

Sasuke held Sakura by the waist and kissed her deeply, Sakura returned his kiss with the same enthusiasm. Sakura backed away until she was cornered between Sasuke and the wall; this was like déjà vu, she was always cornered by a wall and Sasuke even before. They did not break the kiss; from a deep, gentle kiss, it turned into a passionate, hot one. Sasuke pulled away, trying to catch his breath.

"Where's Ayaka?" Sasuke said in a low and husky _(__**A/N: **__sexy!) _voice, his forehead leaning on Sakura's. He wanted to make sure that it they were going to make out like this, their daughter will not see them. Sakura was panting as well.

"She's at Kakashi's." Sakura replied. Sasuke smirked.

"Great."

They proceeded with what they were doing; Sasuke was kissing Sakura hungrily like he hadn't done it for a long time. His hands roamed around her body and Sakura reacted to every one of his touch. His lips left her lips and he went on to kiss her neck, leaving hickeys there. Sakura moaned as she felt him bite her neck.

"Sasuke." Sakura whispered his name as she felt him go lower.

Sasuke was definitely turned on. He removed his shirt and helped Sakura remove hers too. Sasuke kissed every bare part of Sakura. When he couldn't take it anymore, he grabbed her by the arse then lifted her up and Sakura, in turn, wrapped her legs around his waist. Sasuke went back to kissing her lips while Sakura just let him, wrapping her arms around him as well. Sasuke carried her like that to their bedroom and they continued their passionate, hot sex, making loud noises of pleasure that filled all the corners of the house. Good thing Ayaka wasn't there.

* * *

Sakura was exhausted but even though she was, she had already gotten up early that morning and fixed a scrumptious breakfast for Sasuke then took a bath and got ready to leave. Sasuke was still sleeping; it seemed that his energy was drained after a whole night of love-making. Sakura fixed herself up in front of the mirror and when she was done, she went over to Sasuke and placed a kiss on is lips. Sasuke grunted and shifted position; he turned to his side with his bangs covering his face. Sakura sat on the floor, looking at Sasuke's serene expression; she didn't realize that she was crying.

"Sasuke." Sakura said in a low voice. She gently brushed his hair aside. "I love you, you know that right?" Sakura continued, she was practically talking to no one. She planted a kiss on his lips again. "But I need to leave, I'm sorry." Sakura continued, wiping her tears while standing up.

She got the blanket and covered Sasuke with it. Sakura smiled sadly at Sasuke who still had no clue that she was leaving. She got a pen and a paper and scribbled down something, leaving it on the bedside table. Sakura got her things and walked out of the house, she was surprised to see a car waiting for her.

"What is this?" Sakura asked upon seeing Itachi leaning against the car door. Itachi looked at her in a bored way.

"I figured you'll be leaving early. Mr. Yamanaka wants to see you." Itachi told her, getting inside the front passenger's seat of the car. "Come on." He ended.

Sakura had no choice but to follow. They arrived at the Yamanaka mansion and the place was filled with whispers once she entered. Itachi left him inside a huge room; she was supposed to be meeting up with Mr. Yamanaka. Soon enough, the guy entered the room as well. Mr. Yamanaka stared at Sakura for a long time.

"So you're Ms. Haruno." He started, Sakura nodded. "You must be wondering why I called you here." He said and again, Sakura nodded. "I'm not heartless; I'm not going to let you leave without anything. I'm giving you money that will be enough for you to pay for the house. You're going to live in Aomori." He ordered her.

"I am not going to complain sir, but can I ask for one favor before I vanish?" Sakura said, trying to be courageous in asking what he wanted. Mr. Yamanaka tried to comprehend but in the end, he agreed.

"What is it?" He asked. Sakura took a deep breath and let it out.

"I'm married and I want a divorce with my husband. Can you process it? I won't leave until you do." Sakura told the man. This was fairly easy to do and Mr. Yamanaka was actually surprised that this was all it takes for Sakura to leave.

"I'll get the papers processed right away. I will send you the divorce papers that you will sign at the end of the week." Mr. Yamanaka replied without hesitation. He really wanted to get rid of Sakura.

"You've got to make my husband sign it too." Sakura reminded him.

"Of course. Who is he?"

"Uzumaki Naruto." Sakura replied, standing up and bowing politely. "Thank you for your time. I'm leaving now." Sakura said, leaving the room.

Mr. Yamanaka stared at the spot where Sakura was at. He felt a bit guilty; the girl looked like she hadn't done anything wrong but there she was, leaving everything behind. Mr. Yamanaka tried to ponder over this but shrugged it off, he was busy so he didn't have time for problems like this but he made sure to check on Sakura's background and information to decide if he's going to please his daughter or grant fairness to Haruno.

Again, Itachi was waiting outside of the building with his car. Sakura grumbled some curse words under her breath. Itachi's arms were crossed over his chest. He got into the car and so did Sakura. They drove to pick Ayaka up and after saying goodbye and thank you to Kakashi, she left with her daughter. The driver and Itachi had dropped them off at the nearest subway station. Itachi got out of the car to say a few important things.

"I believe Mr. Yamanaka has given you an amount of money to help you survive. It's in your bank account and you can check it as soon as you get to Aomori." Itachi explained. Sakura just stared at him, wondering something. "What?"

"I was just wondering, why do you hate me so much? Why is it that you'll go this far to push me away from your brother?" Sakura asked. It seemed that her talk with Mr. Yamanaka earlier had brought courage to her. She doesn't usually talk to Itachi because of fear, but now she surprisingly did.

"Because you can't give him anything. He doesn't have a future with you." Itachi told Sakura straightforwardly. He was surprised to see her smiling at him, it was like she was mocking him.

"Next time, try to ask him about happiness. His answer will probably be me." Sakura retorted, turning away to leave. Itachi was left there, looking at Sakura's retreating back.

Once inside the train, Ayaka was still looking at her mother who was being very quiet. She got up the seat and knelt right next to her. She tapped Sakura's face a few times to get her attention. Sakura stared at Ayaka, the onyx eyes and raven hair reminding her of Sasuke.

"Mama. Why are you crying?" Ayaka asked quietly, wiping away the tears that were falling from her eyes. "Is it because Papa's not here? Where is he? Where are we going?" Ayaka asked, hugging her mother tightly. Sakura hugged her back.

"We're not going to see Papa for a little while Aya-chan. You'll only be with Mama again." Sakura told her daughter.

"But we'll see him again, won't we? Ayaka will see Papa again right?" Ayaka asked, looking at Sakura again. Sakura smiled.

"Yes. I'm sure we will." She replied, patting Ayaka's head and hugging her again until she fell asleep.

* * *

Sasuke woke up that morning, having no clue of what had happened. He felt that Sakura wasn't beside him so he figured that she was probably making breakfast. He sat up, ruffling his already messy hair as he looked around the room. He recalled what happened last night and it brought a smile on his face. He glanced at the bedside table and saw a note that looked a lot like Sakura's handwriting.

'_Sasuke. Did I ever tell you that you look sexy in the morning without your clothes on? :) I love you. – Sakura.'_

Sasuke smiled yet again, Sakura really is a charmer. He got up, pulled his boxers back on and walked out of the room then towards the kitchen. He expected to see Sakura only in an apron and preparing him breakfast but maybe that was just his perverted mind. He saw no one there but his breakfast was already prepared and placed on the table. He realized that it was unexpectedly quiet and then it hit him.

"Shit." Sasuke cursed out loud as he ran around the house looking for Sakura. He checked all the rooms and corners of the house but he didn't find her anywhere. He opened their closet and saw that only his clothes were left, even Ayaka's closet was empty.

Sasuke hadn't panicked like this for a long time; he put his proper clothes back on and went out of the house, not bothering to fix himself. He saw their neighbor taking out the trash and he called out to him.

"Excuse me sir. Have you seen Sakura?" Sasuke asked, sounding worried. The neighbor thought for a while before answering.

"Oh yes, I did, earlier this morning when I was watering the plants." The neighbor said with a smile on his face. Sasuke nodded.

"Do you know where she went?" Sasuke asked again.

"I'm sorry, I don't but she was picked up by a person who looked…" The man paused and he stared at Sasuke. "…who looked a lot like you, only taller." He ended.

Sasuke thanked the guy and went back inside their house. He took a quick shower and left in a hurry. Itachi was taking this too far. He went to the Yamanaka mansion to look for Itachi there, however, they said that he wasn't there so he went to the office instead. Everyone were surprised to see him barge in inside the Yamanaka Tower.

"Sasuke! You're back!" Temari said, attracting the attention of the other employees. Everyone smiled at Sasuke and greeted him politely like before. Sasuke looked around but he didn't see Itachi there.

"Sasuke. What a surprise." Ino said, walking out of Shikamaru's office with papers in her hands. Sasuke glared at her.

"Where's Itachi? Where the hell did you send Sakura off to?" Sasuke snapped at Ino. Naruto's head popped out of his cubicle.

"What? She's gone?" Naruto asked. Sasuke did not pay attention to him, his eyes were fixed on Ino.

"I have no idea where she is. Itachi's the one in contact with my father." Ino said nonchalantly, not taking Sasuke seriously. Sasuke was quite pissed off and he couldn't help but pin Ino to the wall, a hand on her neck, choking her.

"Sasuke!" Everyone shouted, surprised as they tried to pull him away from Ino.

"Sa…suke….hurts…" Ino struggled as she tried to push Sasuke away from her. The others were trying hard to stop Sasuke.

"I swear I'll kill you for this." Sasuke hissed; his eyes went all blank and only anger was on his mind. Shikamaru showed up at that moment, seeing the chaos that had ensued. He quickly rushed to save Ino.

"Sasuke! Let her go!" Shikamaru shouted as both he and Naruto tried to fight off Sasuke's strength. Sasuke heard him and hesitantly let Ino go, turning his anger-filled eyes towards Naruto and Shikamaru. He balled up a fist and punched both Shikamaru and Naruto on the face.

"You!" Sasuke pointed at Shikamaru. "You like her, don't you?" Sasuke said, now pointing towards Ino, Shikamaru blushed. "If so, then take her away and just be happy together! Stop bothering us!" Sasuke snapped. He turned to Naruto who was covering his bleeding nose. "However, you idiot monkey, you could've stopped Itachi from taking her away. You idiot." Sasuke said, walking towards Naruto and punching him again, this time on the stomach. Naruto groaned in pain as he clutched his hurting stomach while Sasuke just walked away, leaving all of them dumbfounded.

* * *

He was surprised and pissed when he saw Itachi alight his car as he was walking out of the building. Sasuke rushed towards him, ready to punch anytime but Itachi knew what he would do and immediately grabbed his hand to stop him.

"What?" Itachi asked nonchalantly, staring at Sasuke in a bored way. Sasuke pulled his hand away from his.

"Where did you take her?" Sasuke asked fiercely. Itachi frowned and shook his head.

"I can't tell you. She chose this herself." Itachi replied.

"She wouldn't choose this by herself without any reason. I'm sure that you've threatened her with something. Tell me where she is." Sasuke said. He didn't care if they were attracting attention fighting outside like this, he doesn't care anymore.

"Sasuke, let her go. You can't possibly be happy with her." Itachi said in a bored tone. Sasuke let out a sarcastic snort.

"What do you know about making me happy? You've made my life miserable from the start." Sasuke told Itachi in a low voice. "I don't care if you're doing this for me and my future. Just give her back to me." Sasuke said, surprising Itachi that he knows.

"I can't." Itachi said, walking away. "I decided this because this is for your own good." He said.

"No. I can't let you control my life anymore. You may have succeeded in taking her away from me but I will never be your puppet again Itachi. You've chosen the wrong decision." Sasuke said, not looking back. "I'll find her myself, no matter how long it takes." He ended.

* * *

Sasuke never came back to them after that; he kept a low profile, careful not to be caught by the Yamanaka employees. This broke Ino's heart all over again and after a few years, she gave up. Shikamaru never left her side and she resorted into choosing him instead of trying to find love in Sasuke. This made things better for Sasuke, he came out of hiding upon hearing on the news that Ino and Shikamaru have fallen in love. He went back to the Yamanaka mansion to sign his divorce papers and apologize for the ruckus that he caused.

"Where did you send her off to?" Sasuke asked Mr. Yamanaka. This amazed the president to all levels. Ino and Shikamaru were next to him and even they were amazed.

"You're still searching for her?" Mr. Yamanaka asked but Sasuke did not reply, seeing that the answer was obvious. "I sent her off to Aomori Prefecture. I don't know where she is right now but if you're searching for her, you might as well start there." Mr. Yamanaka said.

"Thank you sir." Sasuke replied, standing up and bowing.

"Sasuke. I have decided to give you back your hard-earned money from working at our company and I have lifted the airport and job ban so that you can have a normal life. I hope this ends our ties together." Mr. Yamanaka said. He heard a sob from Ino.

"Thank you but I hope that this will not affect my brother in any way. He's a brilliant man." Sasuke said carefully. Mr. Yamanaka nodded.

"It won't." He replied. Sasuke nodded and bowed again.

"Goodbye." Sasuke said, looking at Shikamaru and Ino. However, Ino rushed to him and gave him a tight hug. Shikamaru just let her, after all, she's going to be his soon.

"I'm sorry." Ino whispered. Sasuke patted her head.

"I should be the one saying that. Be happy." Sasuke said, pulling away from her hug. Ino nodded.

"Good luck." She said. Sasuke smiled and left them alone.

He knew exactly where to go now so he headed towards the Aomori prefecture, now determined to tear the whole place upside down if he had to. He searched there before but he was pretty unlucky, now he's going to find her, he knew he will.

* * *

**A/N: Lame reason for Itachi, I know. I got lazy, I didn't want to write much so maybe you can all just be satisfied with that. lol. hahaha. :) The next chapter will be the last. ^_^ Look forward to it!**

**Lame. Lame. Lame. Lame. Lame. Kill me. Lame. Lame. Lame. Lame. Lame.**

**I'm so sorry!**

***edit***

**This is the longest chapter I've ever written in all of my stories so far! Yay me! ^_^**

* * *

**June 1, 2011 [Wednesday; 3:38 p.m.]**

**Philippines**


	16. Chapter 16: And Now Here We Are

**A/N: You guys have every right to throw curse words at me and hate me to oblivion. But I had a worst case of writer's block and did I mention that college kills? So anyway, here's the final chapter! It's my Christmas gift to all my readers out there. I'm really sorry for delaying this! . Enjoy!**

* * *

**Choice # 16: And now here we are**

* * *

_He knew exactly where to go now so he headed towards the Aomori prefecture, now determined to tear the whole place upside down if he had to. He searched there before but he was pretty unlucky, now he's going to find her, he knew he will._

* * *

It was already dawn when he arrived at Aomori City. Sasuke knew that it would be difficult to find his wife and child by himself but he cannot give up. It's not a joke finding someone in Aomori; it is a big prefecture which has a total of 10 cities and 8 districts. He started asking around the city and was pretty amazed at what he was doing because he was not fond of talking to other people. He searched from inns to restaurants to markets and almost everywhere he could get himself into.

He was already searching for almost two weeks in different cities but still, he couldn't find them. The sun was already shining brightly though the cool summer breeze at Hirakawa city made it bearable for Sasuke to continue his search. But the thing is, he was already starting to feel dizzy from lack of food and sleep. After arguing with his inner self, he had decided to take a quick rest before continuing his search but as he walked towards an inn, a familiar lock of long, raven hair caught his eye.

"Ayaka?" Sasuke blurted out, seeing a familiar lock of long, raven hair flapping with the wind.

It vanished as quickly as it appeared but Sasuke knew that it was Ayaka. He rushed out of the inn and ran after where the girl went, praying to the heavens that he won't lose track of her. Again, Sasuke caught a glimpse of the raven hair turning around the nearest corner and he was glad that he has such great balance or he could've had suffered a painful fall at the sharp turn. He looked around, panting, he saw Ayaka at the nearby park, sitting in one of the swings while looking around as if waiting for someone.

"Ayaka!"

Sasuke was surprised when he heard someone else call his daughter at the same time as him. Surprisingly for him, Ayaka looked at the other person rather than at her father. Sasuke eyes twitched for a moment as he saw a red-haired, tall boy walking towards his daughter with two drinks in his hand. A surge of emotions ran through him that he hadn't quite imagined he'll feel before. He saw a smile creep up to Ayaka's face as she jumped away from the swing and ran towards the boy in sight. Sasuke slowly strode towards the kids and leaned his body coolly on the nearest tree.

The boy seemed to have noticed Sasuke's presence as his eyebrows met and his eyes became filled with worry. He stepped in front of Ayaka seemingly protecting her from harm. Sasuke's eyebrow hitched upward at the sudden action of the boy while Ayaka was just plain confused.

"Sou-kun, stop being so paranoid. No one's going to come and get me here." Ayaka said in her lovely voice that Sasuke hasn't heard for two years. However, Sasuke had a staring contest with the boy, _Sou-kun,_ while Ayaka remained oblivious.

"Aya-chan, this man has been following you and you didn't know?" The boy told Ayaka. It was Ayaka's turn to be surprised. It seemed that she really didn't have any idea that she was being followed, Sasuke shook his head, _'My daughter's brain is becoming rustic. I've been gone for so long.' _He thought.

Ayaka looked towards Sasuke, not hearing the words _"What do you want from her?" _that Sou-kun uttered in complete disgust. She was just staring at the familiar onyx orbs that was staring back at her and the small smile that was on the man's lips. Slowly, Ayaka's eyes were brimming with tears as she gently pushed Sou-kun away, stepping forward and not listening to Sou-kun's pleas of _"Don't go near him!"._

Sasuke crouched down as Ayaka came closer to him. The girl has grown taller than the last time he saw her, clearly a lot has happened and he still wasn't there to witness it. Ayaka stopped in front of him, just staring with wide-eyes, one hand slowly reaching up to touch Sasuke's face. Sasuke couldn't help but smile at the fascination written on his daughter's face.

"Well, hello there little girl, you seem to have forgotten how to speak. Can I help you?" Sasuke said with a smile, pinching her puffy cheeks lightly as he said the words. This time, Ayaka smiled and the tears were now freely flowing down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry. I just think you look nice and I say hi to nice people." Ayaka said in reply, beaming up at Sasuke.

It was at that moment that Sasuke knew what was happening. He realized that Ayaka said the exact same thing as the first time that they saw each other that time at the Steak House a few years ago. _'And here I was thinking that her brain has become rustic.' _Sasuke thought shamelessly.

"Papa." Ayaka sobbed. Sasuke snapped back to reality and opened his arms for Ayaka. He would've cringed in disgust if you told him before that he'll be all sweet and mushy with his daughter but having one and being apart from her for so long really changes a person.

"Ayaka." Sasuke replied.

Ayaka bawled like the child that she really is, hugging Sasuke like her life depended on it. It has been two years since they saw each other and it's pretty clear that Ayaka missed his father a lot. Sasuke hugged her as equally tight, looking up to see a surprised Sou-kun. After what seemed like forever, Ayaka calmed down and pulled away but her eyes has remained fixated on Sasuke's face as if trying to memorize every detail of it.

"Ayaka, don't be rude. Who is this boy that you're with?"

Ayaka blinked as she realized that Sou-kun was still there and waiting for her with two cold drinks in his hand. She took a few steps back, her tears now replaced with an ecstatic expression, and grabbed Sou-kun by the arm. The boy followed the younger girl while Sasuke stood up, towering over the two kids. Ayaka frowned at this.

"Don't scare him Papa." Ayaka told her father and Sasuke knew that Ayaka rolled her eyes at him just by the tone of her voice. "Sou-kun, this is my Papa, the one that I was talking to you about." Ayaka explained towards her friend.

"Hello. Nice to meet you." Sou-kun fluidly spoke as he looked up at Sasuke's towering figure. Sasuke was impressed, the boy was not easily intimidated and this was actually proven by the fact that earlier, he was trying to protect Ayaka from being kidnapped.

_'Probably warned by Sakura.'_ Sasuke thought. Then he remembered; Sakura wasn't around yet. He crouched down once more and held Ayaka's shoulders. "Where's Mama?" Sasuke asked. Ayaka pointed down the road.

"That's where we live Papa." Ayaka explained. Sasuke ruffled her hair and let her go, allowing her to play with Sou-kun for a bit as he walked down the road and towards the apartment building near the park.

* * *

He thought of things to say, cool things such as _'I'm back' _or _'Did you miss me? I'm sure you did'_ or just a plain _'Hn'_. However, all these thoughts were pushed away when the person in question emerged the apartment's front door with the painfully bright pink hair along with a red-haired man that was holding something like a doll. Sasuke stood frozen not too far from them; this can't be happening again, he can't be seeing his wife with another man _AGAIN._

Sakura and the man, who clearly resembles Ayaka's little friend, walked past him, completely oblivious on the death glares that they were getting from Sasuke. He heard them in a deep conversation and couldn't help but smirk at the annoyed face that Sakura was wearing, this means that the red-haired man was nothing to her.

_'No. Wait. Sakura's face was like that too with Naruto and they were married.' _Sasuke suddenly thought. He shrugged, too much negativity makes him want to puke his brains out. He just needed to announce his presence and everything will be alright.

Sasuke followed them, ready to speak up at any moment when he heard Sakura let out a frustrated groan. He stopped because this time it looked serious. Crossing his arms over his chest, he watched the spectacle unfold in front of him, curious about what could've pissed Sakura in this kind of level.

"For the last time Sasori, I will not accept!" Sakura groaned, pushing Sasori away from her. "And please stop making weird puppets of me." She added, feeling goose bumps creep up her spine. Sasori's face remained emotionless though.

"Sakura, it's been two years." Sasori replied to which Sakura groaned more.

This has been going on since the past two years when Sakura met Sasori for the first time as her neighbor in their apartment building. She had to work for a few jobs and had no one to leave Ayaka to but thankfully, she found Sasori's son playing with Ayaka one day and practically begged Sasori to look after Ayaka while she was at work. All those times, she thought that Sasori was some weird person and it turns out that he really was but not in a bad way. He's a quiet man who likes making puppets for he said that puppets make him happy, it took some getting used to but they eventually became friends. However, the inevitable happened and Sasori declared his love towards Sakura one day by giving her puppets that looked _exactly _like her. It was creepy.

"I know Sasori but that is not an excuse for you to keep making _weird puppets _of me." Sakura stressed out her point, walking towards the park. Her eyes shone as she saw Ayaka happily playing at the sandbox.

"But Sakura…" Sasori started but was cut off when Ayaka screamed and ran towards her mother. Sakura was somewhat surprised but accepted Ayaka's hug eagerly as well, crouching down to hug her tighter.

"What are you so happy about Aya-chan?" Sakura asked as Ayaka pulled away with a _'what-is-wrong-with-you-mama?' _look on her face. Sakura frowned upon seeing it but her questions were soon answered as Sasuke spoke up behind them.

"Two years isn't quite a long time at all. I've endured seven."

Sakura _(and Sasori) _looked around to see Sasuke, in all his glory, standing in front of them, arms still crossed over his chest. As expected, Sakura had the same reaction as their daughter; staring stupidly at the handsome man that appeared in front of her after two years.

"Who are you?" Sasori asked, frowning at Sasuke, checking him out from head to toe. Sasuke glared at him and surprisingly, it was enough to shut him up at the moment.

He walked towards Sakura, not losing eye contact with those familiar green orbs that is now full of unspeakable emotions that only he can understand. But Sakura was not crying; she was merely staring. Sasuke stopped in front of her, gently tucking a loose strand of pink hair behind her ear and letting his hand stay there.

"Yeah. I knew you missed me."

A quick, quiet, breathy laugh escaped Sakura's lips as Sasuke enveloped her into a hug. No one was speaking, the only sound were their constant breathing. They even forgot about Sasori who was now looking like a dejected person as he realized who Sasuke was. Sakura's hands returned the favor of hugging Sasuke back, feeling his familiar set of muscular arms and back.

"Took you long enough." Sakura replied in her low, breathy voice. "But I always knew that you'd come and find me again."

"Oh, you knew? How so?" Sasuke asked, but he already knew the answer of course.

"Because, other than the fact that this has happened before, I know that you can't live without me." Sakura cunningly replied with a laugh. Sasuke smirked.

"Maybe it's you who can't live without me." He boasted. "So you have to make sure that I don't get away from you again." He said.

"Don't worry. I've got a built-in 'Sasuke magnet' because no matter how far we stay away, we'll always end up stuck together." Sakura laughed.

It was now Sasuke's turn to smile. All those years of searching finally paid off and the reward is amazing. Sakura just basked into Sasuke's protective arms and Sasuke making sure that everything stays in place. He slowly pulled away, wanting to kiss Sakura senseless if it wasn't for their daughter beaming up at them with her eager face. He sighed inwardly; the kissing shall wait a bit more. Sakura stared a bit more before snapping back to reality.

"So you really are here, aren't you? For good?" Sakura asked, praying to the gods that Sasuke won't be leaving until she dies.

"Yes. But first thing's first," Sasuke looked around and pointed a jealous finger towards the redhead behind him. "Who the hell is this?"

Sakura turned to Sasori and properly introduced him to Sasuke. "This is Sakurai Sasori. He's been…helping me for the past two years." Sakura carefully chose her words as she noticed the glint of jealousy pass in Sasuke's eyes. "We're just friends." She ended, hoping that it will pacify the possible anger that is bubbling up inside her man.

"Yeah?" Sasuke started, walking towards the redhead and eyeing him suspiciously. "I don't think that's what he wants though." He bluntly said.

"So you're the man that she's waiting for?" Sasori stated. "You look a lot like your daughter." He examined. Sasuke nodded, trying the best he can to stay civil.

"And you look a lot like your son as well. What's his name?" Sasuke asked as he looked over at the kids who were now throwing sand at each other.

"Souichi. He's 10 and I think your daughter likes him very much." Sasori pointed out, not missing the twitch of Sasuke's eyebrows at his words. Sakura stepped between them with a careful smile stuck on her face.

"I'm sorry but can you give us a moment Sasori?" Sakura asked politely as Sakura held Sasuke's hand. She looked back at Ayaka, "Aya-chan, do you want to come home with us?"

"No mama, Sou-kun wants to play tag." Ayaka laughed as she ran towards the older boy, trying to reach him seeing as he was taller than her. Sakura smiled fondly, "Souichi, please look after her." Sakura told the boy. Souichi nodded.

"Yes Sakura obasan." Souichi gave out a toothy smile and ran away from Ayaka as they started to play tag.

"Sakura." They heard Sasori say in his low voice. Sakura looked around and patted Sasori's shoulder apologetically.

"I'm sorry. I really can't." Sakura told him as the couple walked towards the apartment and inside Sakura's apartment room.

* * *

Once the door clicked close, Sasuke dropped his forgotten bag onto the floor and pulled Sakura into a tight hug, cutting off whatever Sakura was going to say to him. He inhaled the familiar scent that she had and laughed quietly in her hair. Sakura frowned, not knowing what had gotten into Sasuke.

"You're acting differently. What happened to the _real _you?" Sakura teased, her voice low and in a whisper.

"Try searching for someone for two years; let's see how you'll act when you see them." Sasuke replied in his I-dare-you voice. Sakura laughed, it seemed that Sasuke had really been looking for them. She slowly pulled away, caressing Sasuke's cheeks, a smile creeping up her face.

"How have you been? How's everybody?" Sakura asked. Then, as if realizing what she said, her eyes widened. "Do they know you're here? Oh my god. Does Itachi know? Are we being followed again?" She babbled. Sasuke stared at her in disbelief.

"Please stop talking."

Sakura prepared a witty comeback but her lips were immediately covered by Sasuke's lips and the feeling was most definitely nostalgic. The sweet taste of her familiar lips on his is enough to get him over the edge but of course, he won't show that emotion to his face, it'll be the end of him. His hands roamed down the side of her body as Sakura whimpered into their kiss, pulling away.

"Stop. Wait." Sakura breathed on Sasuke's lips, their foreheads touching and Sasuke's hands still on her side. Sasuke grunted, kissing her passionately again. Sakura couldn't help but kiss back with the same passion as him.

They stumbled towards the bedroom; Sasuke gently laying Sakura down on her bed. Sakura's apartment is very roomy; it has two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room and one bathroom down the living room hall. It turns out that she really had been given enough money to live a decent life away from Sasuke. As his hands started roaming towards Sakura's most protected parts, she suddenly sat up; bumping her forehead to his and nearly having a brain concussion.

"What the hell?" Sasuke reacted, holding his now painful forehead. With a forehead that big, Sakura can easily inflict pain on people.

"I told you to stop." Sakura panted, trying her best to breathe and speak at the same time. Sasuke frowned at her.

"It wasn't effective seeing as we're now inside your room." He retorted, sitting upright as well while rubbing his reddening forehead. "Why are we stopping anyway?"

"It's Saturday. AFTERNOON. And Ayaka can waltz in on us doing _that_." Sakura explained, fixing herself. "And we haven't even talked about stuff."

"What _stuff?_"

"You know, what happened? Where are they? I need a detailed story about this." Sakura huffed, wanting to know everything when she was gone.

Sasuke sighed but seeing Sakura's current state, he knew he won't be getting a sexy love-making from her until he talks. He recounted everything from when the day she was gone up until the time when Ino decided to file a divorce and just give up on Sasuke to be together with Shikamaru instead. Sakura's face showed mixed emotions about Sasuke's story.

"So she just married Shikamaru? That's it? She should've just married the guy in the first place so we didn't have to deal with all this crap." Sakura commented after Sasuke finished his story about what happened in the past two years. "Tch. I had hoped that they were sued or something." Sakura told him. Sasuke chuckled.

"You've thought of that?" He asked. He always thought that Sakura would just live her life and forget about the people that caused her trouble, but apparently not.

"Of course. After all they've done to ruin my life, how can I not have thought of that? They fired me from my job, kept me from finding any other job, kicked me out of my house and forced me to get away from you. Who, in their right mind, would just forgive all of that?" Sakura blurted out all her thoughts that had been bottle up inside her all this time.

"No one would just forgive that. But we're not going to involve ourselves in their business anymore, right?" Sasuke said in his authoritative voice that Sakura never fails to follow. "What about you? Care to tell your story?" Sasuke asked. Sakura nodded.

She also recounted the two years that passed. How she was threatened by Itachi that if she didn't leave, she'll never see Ayaka again. She and Ayaka went to Aomori as instructed by the Yamanaka's and struggled to find a house. They stayed in an inn for a few months until Sakura had a stable job that pays her good money. Once they had the money, Sakura looked around to find a house of their own and thankfully landed in an apartment complex where she instantly befriended her weird neighbor, Sasori. The year passed by just like that, everything just became a routine. She paused and looked carefully at Sasuke before continuing.

"Sasuke, I'm going to tell you something but please don't freak out." Sakura started. Sasuke perked up and motioned for her to go on. "Naruto found me before you did."

"Wha—?"

"Don't freak out!" Sakura cut him off as Sasuke stood up in surprise. "It was a few months ago. I think the Yamanaka's sent him to find me."

"Why?"

"I'm divorced."

With this, Sakura flashed a happy smile. It turns out that Naruto came to find her to tell her that they were now officially divorced. She didn't know how to react without being rude to the other person but thankfully back then, Naruto felt that she was being uncomfortable and he left after finishing his tea. Sasuke was surprised at this but he too, smiled at the revelation.

"Well then, you have to marry me soon or _someone.."_ He groaned, thinking of that bastard Sasori, "…might steal you away from me again." He ended. Sakura, on the other hand, froze on the spot. Sasuke stared at her. "What?"

"You just…Did you just…" Sakura said, not being able to form coherent sentences. Sasuke realized why she was freaking out and he smirked.

"I'm assuming that's a yes." Sasuke confidently said. Sakura snapped out of her stupor and raised an eyebrow. She's not an easy woman.

"Are you kidding me? With a proposal like that? No. Do it properly."

Sasuke groaned, he found it too cheesy to be getting down on one knee while asking for someone you love to marry you. He stood up and walked outside the room. Panic started to set in Sakura's mind, _'What if he backs out? What if I pissed him off?'_

Sakura followed him out only to see him cursing quietly while rummaging through his knapsack on the couch. The door flew open as Ayaka hopped in, Sakura saw a glimpse of Souichi and Sasori entering their own room. Ayaka closed the door and walked over to Sasuke as her father called her over to him. Sakura stared as the both of them went into a quiet conversation, she saw Ayaka nodding and getting something from Sasuke's hands. Ayaka beamed up at her mother while Sasuke just sat back and watched.

"Mama!" Ayaka screamed eagerly. "Papa wants to marry you. And he's got this shiny thing…" Ayaka said, showing Sakura a gleaming ring and examining it for herself, clearly fascinated by the sparkles that it emitted. Sakura's mouth hangs wide open as she stared at the ring. "Mama. I like this ring." Ayaka smiled toothily.

"I like it too princess." Sakura replied, kneeling down to be at eye level with her daughter and getting the ring from Ayaka. Sasuke stood up at this and smirked at Sakura.

"Isn't this cool? You're the one on your knees. I'm touched." Sasuke teased and Sakura immediately realized what he did. She stood up and smacked his arm, earning a hearty laugh from Sasuke.

"You're so mean! Do it properly!" Sakura pouted. Sasuke shook his head, getting the ring from Sakura.

"No. I think this is enough. I'm going to puke if I get down on one knee like this…" Sasuke said, getting down on his right knee, "…and ask you if you're willing to marry me." He ended, presenting her the ring properly and smiling. Sakura's eyes brimmed with tears while Ayaka giggled and mimicked her father then got down on her knees too while looking up at Sakura.

"You really are the best in the world." Sakura said, smiling from ear to ear. Sasuke lifted his nose up in the air.

"So what do you say?"

"What do you think?"

"Am I going to be wearing a cute dress?"

Both of them looked at Ayaka who looked excited about everything. Sakura nodded at her daughter and that was enough for Sasuke to know that she accepted his proposal. He stood up and gave Sakura a tight hug. Ayaka jumped on her feet as well and hugged both of her parents.

"I want to tell Sou-kun!" Ayaka said, moving away from them and towards the door, chanting _'I'm wearing a dress. Cute cute dress.' _Sasuke stared at the the spot where his daughter went and sighed。

"She's growing up fast." Sasuke said. "But I don't like her being close to that boy." Sasuke frowned. "I'd kill anyone who destroys the Uchiha genes of good looks and superior brain." Sakura laughed and rolled her eyes at him.

"You stupid idiot. Some thing just don't change, does it?" Sakura said with a smile. "And just to let you know, Souichi is a very nice boy and he likes her a lot too." Sakura said. Sasuke shook his head.

"No. I won't agree to it." He replied. "And he's too old."

"He's 10. She's 8 and will soon turn 9. You're overreacting." Sakura replied.

It became quiet all of a sudden as Sasuke just stared at Sakura's hand that now donned the ring that he bought a few years back. He prepared for this moment and was beyond happy that Sakura accepted. He looked up only to see Sakura looking back at him with those loving, green eyes and he couldn't help but smirk.

"What do you say we go straight to honeymoon?" Sasuke proposed, carrying Sakura bridal style into _their _bedroom and ignoring her pleas.

This time, he made sure that he locked the door. Now he just had to make sure that they won't make too much noise so that Ayaka can't hear what they're doing. :)

**~FIN**

* * *

**A/N: What do you think? Is the ending good? Feedback are very much welcome! ^_^ I needed a character that I haven't mentioned before and my friend suggested Sasori, so there he is. I used his voice actor's last name seeing as he doesn't have one. I don't know if I wrote him correctly but he's just a passing character so whatever. LOL.**

**Merry Christmas Eve and Merry Christmas! I love ya'll!**

* * *

**December 24, 2011 [Saturday; 4:05 p.m.]**

**Philippines**


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